Summary of the Units at AS and A2
Unit 1: Physical Environments (AS):
- Plate tectonics and continental drift; volcanoes and earthquakes; weathering of rocks; the issues affecting people who live in areas affected by volcanoes and earthquakes.
- The hydrological cycle and rainfall; how and why rivers react to changing conditions; how and why rivers shape the landscape; the management of rivers and drainage basins.
- How and why the sea shapes the landscape; how sea levels have changed over time, and are still changing; the types of ecosystem that may develop along a coastline; how people can manage coasts to create opportunities and lessen risks.
Unit 2 – Human Environments (AS):
- The distribution of the world's population; how populations vary in different parts of the world; how and why governments are trying to influence population change.
- The site and situation of settlements, and their sphere of influence; how different areas within towns are organised; how towns are changing as people move in and out, and land uses change; how governments are influencing settlements.
- Why people migrate, and the effects these movements have on destination and receiving areas; refugees and how governments influence these movement patterns.
Unit 3 – Fieldwork and Applied Geographical Skills (AS):
- Residential field course to (Slapton) to study some classic landforms. The majority of the costs of the residential trips are subsidised by the school. Visits around are frequently arranged during school hours to support the need for a clear understanding of the local area.
Unit 4 – Physical Systems, Processes and Patterns (A2 only):
- How unequal heating of the earth leads to pressure differences, movement of the air and different weather systems; weather forecasting; climatic hazards.
- How glaciers develop and move, and how this movement affects landscapes; the effects of melt water when the glacier melts; opportunities and challenges for people in and around glaciated areas.
- The functioning of ecosystems at different scales; how soils are formed and develop their characteristics; how different ecosystems can offer opportunities and challenges for people.
Unit 5: Human Systems, Processes and Patters (A2 0nly):
- How industries choose locations, and how this is changing; how and why employment patterns vary in different parts of the world; how economic activity is becoming every more global in scale; how industrial activity affects the environment.
- Where and why urbanisation is taking place; how rural areas and urban areas depend on each other; the pressures that rapid change is putting on urban and rural environments.
- How development varies in different parts of the world, and within countries; how the process of development changes overtime; how international trade and aid affect development in different parts of the world.
Unit 6: Synoptic: People and their Environments (A2 only):
- In this unit candidates are expected to draw together many of the different ideas that they have learned in different places on the course. For example, candidates may be asked about why people live in hazardous areas, and this could include ideas from the units on volcanoes, agriculture, settlement and development.
Scheme of assessment
Unit 1: Physical Environments (AS)
- Written examination – 1 hour 15 minutes
- There will be six structured data response-type questions. Two questions will be set on each of the three areas of study. The study areas are earth systems, fluvial environments and coastal environments. Students must answer three questions, choosing one from each section. Answers will be marked out of 20. The total for the unit will be 60 marks.
Unit 2: Human Environments (AS)
- Written examination – 1 hour 15 minutes
- There will be six structured data response-type questions. Two questions will be set on each of the three areas of study. The study areas are population characteristics, settlement patterns and population movements. Students must answer three questions, choosing one from each section. Answers will be marked out of 20. The total for the unit will be 60 marks.
Unit 3: Fieldwork Investigation (AS)
- Option 3b: Written examination, 1 hour 30 minutes
- There will be two sections. Section A will be a compulsory question with several subsections requiring the manipulation and organisation of a range of resource materials, and the application of practical skills in a context unfamiliar to students. Section B will be a compulsory question which will ask students about their own fieldwork. The examination paper will expect that students will have carried out a minimum of two days fieldwork. Section A will be marked out of 40 and Section B out of 20. The total for the unit will be 60 marks.
Unit 4: Physical Systems, processes and patterns (A2)
- Written examination, l hour 30 minutes
- This unit will have six semi-structured essay questions. Each question will be supported by a stimulus resource such as a photograph, a graph, a synoptic chart or a press cutting. Two questions will be set on each of the three areas of study. Students must answer two questions out of the six, each of which must come from a different area of study. Answers will be marked out of 25. The total for the unit will be 50 marks.
Unit 5: Human systems, processes and patterns (A2)
- Written examination, 1 hour 30 minutes
- This unit will have six semi-structured essay questions. Each question will be supported by a stimulus resource such as a photograph, a graph, a synoptic chart or a press cutting. Two questions will be set on each of the three areas of study. Students must answer two questions out of the six, each of which must come from a different area of study. Students will be expected to use relevant maps and diagrams, and to draw on their personal investigation to support their answers. Answers will be marked out of 25. The total for the unit will be 50 marks.
Unit 6 – Synoptic Unit (A2)
- Written examination, 2 hours
- Synoptic assessment involves assessment of students' ability to draw on their understanding of the connections between different aspects of the subject represented in the specification. There will be two sections. Section A will consist of one compulsory exercise involving analysis of text, maps, data and other illustrative material. The exercise will require students to draw together and apply in an unfamiliar context knowledge, understanding and skills from different parts of the whole specification. The question will comprise several sub-sections and will be marked out of 50. Section B will consist of four essay questions from which the student must choose one. The questions will explore links between the different part of the specification content. It will require the synthesis of geographical understanding and skills in the context of the interrelationships between physical and human environments. Students will be expected to use relevant maps and diagrams and to draw on their personal investigations, to support their answers. Answers will be marked out of 25. The total for the unit will be 75 marks.
Summary Teaching Schedule
| Term | Physical | Human |
| Autumn (Yr 12) | Unit 1 Coastal Environments Unit 3 preparation - Fieldtrip to Slapton | Unit 2 Settlement Patterns |
| Coastal Environments | Settlement Patterns |
| Coastal Environments | Settlement Patterns |
| Fluvial Environments | Population Characteristics |
| Easter | Fluvial Environments | Population Characteristics |
| Fluvial Environments | Population Characteristics |
| Earth Systems | Population Movements |
| Earth Systems | Population Movements |
| Summer | Earth Systems | Population Movements |
| AS Examinations (Units 1, 2, 3) | AS Examinations (Units 1, 2, 3) |
| Unit 4 Glacial Systems | Unit 5 Economic Systems |
| Autumn (Yr 13) | Glacial Systems | Economic Systems |
| Glacial Systems | Economic Systems |
| Ecosystems | Development Processes |
| Ecosystems | Development Processes |
| Easter | A2 Examinations (Units 4, 5 and retakes for 1 -3) | A2 Examinations (Units 4, 5 and retakes for 1-3) |
| Ecosystems | Development Processes |
| Unit 6 Synoptic | Unit 6 Synoptic |
| Summer | Synoptic | Synoptic |
| A2 Examinations (Unit 6 and retakes for 4, 5) | A2 Examinations (Unit 6 and retakes for 4, 5) |
