A Level Geography

“Geography stimulates an interest and a sense of wonder about people, places and the environment.”

Qualification

A Level

Awarding Body

AQA

Course Specification

Who to contact for more information about this course

Queries should be directed to Miss Turner

Years taught

Year 13

What is the course structure?

Geography stimulates an interest and a sense of wonder about people, places and the environment. Studying this in detail at A Level helps learners to make sense of a complex and dynamically changing world.

The course is split into AS and A-Level and this qualification is linear. Linear means that learners will sit all their exams and submit all their non-exam assessment at the end of the course.

What will I study?

The subject content will include physical geography, human geography, people and the environment, fieldwork and geographical skills.

Water and carbon cycles
Coastal systems and landscapes
Hazards
Global systems and global governance
Changing places
Population and the environment
Geography fieldwork investigation
Geographical skills

Component 1: Physical Geography

Section A: Water and carbon cycles
Section B: either Hot desert systems and landscapes or Coastal systems and landscapes or Glacial systems and landscapes
Section C: either Hazards or Ecosystems under stress

Component 2: Human Geography

Section A: Global systems and global governance
Section B: Changing places
Section C: either Contemporary urban environments or Population and the environment or Resource security

Component 3: Geography fieldwork investigation

Learners complete an individual investigation which must include data collected in the field. The individual investigation must be based on a question or issue defined and developed by the learner relating to any part of the specification content.

How is the course assessed?

Component 1

Written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes
120 marks: section A all questions (36 marks), section B question 2, 3 or 4 (36 marks), section C question 5 or 6 (48 marks)
Questions: multiple choice, short answer, levels of response and extended prose
40% of A-level

Component 2

Written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes
120 marks: section A all questions (36 marks), section B all questions (36 marks), section C question 3, 4 or 5 (48 marks)
Questions: multiple choice, short answer, levels of response and extended prose
40% of A-level

Component 3

NEA (non examined assessment)
A piece of fieldwork of your choice based on the A-Level syllabus
20% of A-Level