Geography

Geography

Why choose Geography?

Geography is a subject that spans both the natural and social sciences and its strong skills base and breadth in content make it a rigorous and very highly regarded subject at A-Level. 

Rooted in current political, socio-economic, and environmental affairs, Geography challenges students to question the world around them and go deep into understanding the physical and human processes that shape it. Arguably, the study of geography has never been more important than now as the world faces the challenges of climate change, resource depletion and land degradation alongside rapidly expanding economic and technological advancements and social change.  

From international development to statistical analysis of climate change patterns to the study of global fertility rates to environmental management, Geography is the ultimate multi-disciplinary subject. Embedded throughout the course are core numerical, decision-making, statistical and literary skills that enable a thorough evaluation not only of the themes we study, but also the methods by which we study them.  

The Cambridge A Level course is a rigorous and exciting course that investigates multiple complex human and physical geography topics to deepen our understanding of the world around us. Equally balanced between human and physical components, the course is international in focus and draws from multiple case studies from right across our incredible planet. 

What are the aims of the course? 

A Level Geography helps students to develop:

• an understanding of the principal processes operating within physical geography and human geography  
• a cross-curricular understanding of the interconnectedness between the natural and social sciences, especially Biology, Physics, Business, Economics and Sociology  
• an understanding of the causes and effects of change on natural and human environments and their relationship to current environmental issues such as climate change, resource depletion, natural hazard management etc.  
• an awareness of the usefulness of geographical analysis to understand and solve contemporary human and environmental problems  
• strong place knowledge and a good grasp of current affairs  
• the ability to handle and evaluate different types and sources of information; a valuable skill for a future career in business/ finance  
• the skills to think logically, and to present an ordered and coherent argument in a variety of ways   
• an excellent foundation for studies beyond A Level in Geography, in further or higher education, and for professional courses.   

What study skills do you need?

• A good grasp of Maths is needed for the interpretation of data such as maps, graphs and tables.  
• A willingness to rote learn is needed to acquire extensive new terminology.  
• A good memory; Geography uses a large range of case studies at local through to regional and national scales  
• Good literacy skills; the ability to write well-structured, articulate and above all, evaluative essays that debate wide-ranging issues is critical.  
• Keeping up with the news is essential to get the most out of this contemporary subject as rarely will there be articles in the news that do not relate in some way to our course and studies.  
• Being open-minded and interested in issues beyond the UK is vital, as is the ability to debate and reflect on different viewpoints to achieve a balanced understanding.  
• A proactive attitude is needed as Geographers not only seek to understand the challenges of the world around them but how to help overcome them.

GCSE requirements

At least a grade 7 in Geography GCSE

Course content

Specification: CIE Geography