Geography AS and A Level

Is this subject right for me?
Are you interested in the world around you?
Do you keep up with news and current affairs?
Do you enjoy practical work and field work?

When you take Geography you will study a wide range of interesting places and topics. It offers the opportunity to look in more detail at issues such as global warming, the impacts of volcanoes and earthquakes, the population explosion, the consequences of rapid urban growth, or the fate of the rain forests. We also study coasts, tourism and settlement; all from an international to a local level. All these topics and others will involve working outside the classroom to ensure Geography is both a practical and academic subject. It is a subject which is very much alive, and which changes rapidly.

The skills you develop during the course are directly relevant to the world beyond education. You will acquire knowledge - both subject-specific and general. You will develop social and inter-personal skills such as how to lead a group activity, and how to work as a team. You will develop expertise in handling data and field equipment, develop study skills such as personal organisation and build upon your knowledge of numeracy as you tackle simple statistical work. You will also learn intellectual skills such as how to think clearly and constructively, how to solve problems and make decisions, and how to clarify the values which different people feel about geographical issues. You are then in a position to take these skills further when you study at a higher level or go into a job.

Geography is a subject which falls neatly between the Arts and the Sciences and combines well with all other AS / A Level subjects. It is most effectively combined with Mathematics and the Sciences or with any of the Humanities subjects leading to possible careers in areas such as Business, Environmental Consultancy, Tourism Management , GIS and Planning amongst many others.

How is the course assessed?

AS - Unit 1 Physical and Human Geography:
Structured short and extended questions: 2 hours
70% of the AS and 35% of the total A Level marks
AS -Unit 2 Applied Geography:
Structured skills and generic fieldwork questions: 1 hour
30% of the AS and 15% of the total A Level marks

A2 - Unit 3 Contemporary Geographical Issues:
Structured short and extended questions and an essay: 2 1/2 hours
30% of the total A Level marks.
A2 - Unit 4A Geography Fieldwork Investigation:
Structured short and extended questions based on candidates†own fieldwork investigation: 1 1/2 hours : 20% of the total A Level mark

What are the entry requirements?
The general entry requirements for studying at Advanced level apply. It is not a requirement to have studied GCSE Geography, but if you have we prefer you to have at least grade C. If you do not have Geography GCSE then you should have a C in a Science.

Other information
Resources
You will use a variety of resources during your course, including:

• text books
• printed resource material for each topic
• Audio-visual resources
• maps
• field equipment
• mapping software
• analytical software

Knowledge and Understanding
You will develop the following knowledge and understanding:

• broad geographical ideas and concepts
• current geographical issues and problems

Skills
During the course you will:

• learn a number of skills, including using a range of appropriate techniques for obtaining, recording, representing, classifying and interpreting data from both primary and secondary sources
• develop inter-personal skills by taking part in class discussions, debates and role-play
• use IT to manipulate geographical data

Homework
During the course you will:

• have to complete regularly set work, e.g. essays and, research reading
• need to read beyond the work set by your teachers

Field Work
In Geography:

• we run a one week field trip to the Cevennes, France
• we run trips and conferences, mainly in the Sussex area
• you conduct your own field research

10/09