A Level

Exam Board - Edexel

Geography is a unique subject because it looks at both the physical structure of the planet and the social structure in the past, present and future.

Choose Geography if you enjoy learning about people and their societies, economics, cultures and the environment and engage critically with real world issues and places. If you are keen to learn and develop a range of skills including teamwork skills, research and analysis skills. If you want to secure a job when you leave school/university. Employers love the transferable mix of technical and social skills people get from studying Geography.

Specific requirements

Grade 6 in GCSE Geography.

What will I study?

Area of Study 1: Dynamic Landscapes 

  • Tectonic processes, hazards and management
  • Coastal landscapes, change and management

Area of Study 2: Dynamic Places

  • Globalisation - causes and impacts
  • Diverse places

Area of Study 3: Physical systems & sustainability

  • The water cycle and water insecurity
  • The carbon cycle and energy security

Area of Study 4: Human systems & Geopolitics 

  • Superpowers 
  • Global development and connection including Health, Human Rights and Intervention.

Fieldwork: 4 days fieldwork is compulsory to this course. This is likely to be a combination of local day trips and a residential to cover both human and physical aspects of the course.
Independent Investigation: You will undertake a 4000 word report on a specification of your choice.

Assessment methods

Paper 1 (Code 9GEO/01) 2 hours 15 minutes 30% of A Level
Paper 2 (Code 9GEO/02) 2 hours 15 minutes 30% of A Level
Paper 3 Code 9GEO/03) 2 hours 15 minutes - The Synoptic Element 
20% of A Level

Coursework (Code 9GEO/04) 

20% of A Level

Where does it lead?

Anywhere... quite literally from collecting soil samples on the edge of a volcano to tackling climate change. According to the Royal Geographical Society, Geography students have some of the highest rates of employment. It would be great for a career that involves the environment, planning or collecting and interpreting data. Popular careers include town and transport planning, surveying, conservation, sustainability, waste and water management, tourism and meteorology.

Wider Reading

Non fiction

  1. Globlization by Alex Perry
  2. Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner
  3. Vietnam: an epic history of a tragic war by Max Hastings
  4. The Changing Geography of the United Kingdom by John Charles Doornkamp
  5. Dreams from my Father by Barack Obama
  6. I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
  7. A Land without a People by Nur Masalha
  8. The Middle East since 1945 by Stewart Ross
  9. Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall
  10. Divided by Tim Marshall
  11. Worth Dying for by Tim Marshall
  12. The Age of Walls by Tim Marshall

Fiction

  1. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
  2. The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright
  3. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox
  4. Arabian Nights 2 by Husain Haddawy
  5. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
  6. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
  7. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
  8. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
  9. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
  10. Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie
  11. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
  12. And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
  13. Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
  14. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Nozi Adichie
  15. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Nozi Adichie
  16. Americanah by Chimamanda Nozi Adichie

Magazines:

  1. National Geographic
  2. Wide world

Podcasts:

GeogPod
The Rest is Politics
The MapScaping Podcast
The Guardian: Politics Weekly Podcast
A VerySpatial Podcast
80 Days | An Exploration Podcast
Geographical Imaginations