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   GEOGRAPHY - What You Will Learn
Key Stage 4
At Key Stage 4 Geography is not a statutory subject and students can choose to study it at examination level. This page contains information about the course.
Number of lessons per week: 2 lessons (2 hours)
Qualification: General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)
Examining board: AQA
Further information and full course specification:  AQA website
This page:
» Aims
» Assessment objectives
» Subject content
» Scheme of assessment
Aims
This specification offers opportunities for candidates to:
- Acquire and apply knowledge and understanding of a range of places,
environments, spatial patterns and distributions at a range of scales
from local to global, as well as an understanding of the physical and
human processes, including decision-making, which affect their
development;
- Develop a sense of place and an appreciation of the environment, as
well as an awareness of the ways in which people and environments
interact, the importance of sustainable development in those
interactions, and the opportunities, challenges and constraints that face
people in different places;
- Develop an understanding of global citizenship and the ways in which
places and environments are interdependent;
- Appreciate that the study of geography is dynamic, not only because
places, geographical features, patterns and issues change, but also
because new ideas and methods lead to new interpretations;
- Understand the significance and effects of people’s values and
attitudes, including their own, in how decisions are made about the use
and management of environments and resources, in relation to
geographical issues and questions;
- Acquire and apply appropriately the skills and techniques – including
those of map work, fieldwork and information, and communication
technology (ICT), needed to conduct geographical study and enquiry.
|
Callum McGann and Nicholas Logan (Year 10)
 The classes are mixed and interesting so no distractions from other people.
You learn about the problems in the world, why they happen and how we can prevent them. |
Assessment objectives
Candidates are required to demonstrate their ability to:
- Show knowledge of places, environments and themes at a range of
scales from local to global;
- Show understanding of the specified content;
- Apply their knowledge and understanding in a variety of physical and
human contexts;
- Select and use a variety of skills and techniques appropriate to
geographical studies and enquiry.
Summary of subject content
Managing Change in the
Human Environment
- Population change:
How do people in MEDCs and LEDCs meet the challenges of
population change?
- Rural – Urban migration in
LEDCs: How are the causes and consequences of rural-urban migration
managed in LEDCs?
- Changing city and town
centres:
How are the changes which are occurring in and around an MEDC
city and town centres being managed?
- Pressure at the Rural – Urban
Fringe: How can changes and pressures to develop rural-urban fringe
locations in the EU or UK be managed more effectively?
Managing the Physical
Environment
- Unstable plate margins: How can people better understand, prepare for and respond to
tectonic hazards?
- Weather hazards: How can people better manage the impacts of storms and flooding?
- Water and food supply: How can the availability of water and food be managed to ensure
supply?
- Pressures on the physical
environment: How can attractive physical environments be managed to preserve
their character yet meet people’s needs for recreation?
Managing Economic
Development
- Contrasting levels of
development: How can the quality of life of those most disadvantaged by economic
development be improved?
- Resource depletion: How can existing resources and their alternatives be managed to
ensure future supplies?
- Economic development and
the global environment: How can economic development be sustained without damage to
communities or the natural environment?
- Tourism and the economy: How can tourism development be managed to allow economic
benefits without cultural or environmental costs?
|
Glen Robson (Year 11)
The good things about Year 11 Geography are that although it is very hard work it is also interesting and entertaining. |
Scheme of assessment
The Scheme of Assessment comprises three components.
Paper 1 - 1½ hours - 25 % of the total marks - 60 marks
This component is a Decision-Making Exercise (DME).
- A series of structured questions tests the background of a chosen issue (or issues), its impact upon people and its management.
- Questions may use resources such as photographs, newspaper articles, statistics, graphs, etc.
- A question based on an Ordnance Survey map extract (scale 1:50 000) may be set.
- Questions may be drawn from one or more sections of the specification content
- All questions are compulsory.
Paper 2 - 1¾ hours - 50 % of the total marks - 80 marks
This component comprises three structured questions.
- Each of the
three questions are drawn from one of the three sections of the
specification content.
- Questions may use resources such as
photographs, newspaper articles, statistics graphs, etc.
- A question based on an Ordnance Survey map extract (scale 1:50 000) may be set.
- All questions are compulsory.
Coursework - 25 % of the total marks
Coursework of approximately 2500 words based on a fieldwork
investigation at a local/small scale.
The topic(s) chosen for investigation must relate to some part of the specification content.
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