Geography

Course summary

You will be taught by two teachers from the department, teaching two hours each a week, and each teaching a different topic of study. The topics of study covered in the two year course: Unit 1 – Physical Geography Water and Carbon Cycles where you will investigate the major stores of water and carbon at or near the Earth’s surface and explore the cyclical relationships associated with them. We use systems theory to approach this topic and several others in your A-Level course with the understanding that by changing one aspect of a cycle, you are affecting all other parts. Coastal Systems and Landscapes and we focus on the dynamic environments in which landscapes develop by the interaction of winds, waves, currents and terrestrial and marine processes. A highlight of this unit is the Hazards section where we explore the lithosphere and the atmosphere, which regularly present natural hazards to human populations in catastrophic and dramatic ways. Unit 2 – Human Geography This unit includes Global Systems and Global Governance, which focuses on globalisation. We investigate the economic, political and social changes that have come about because of modern technology and explore issues that have become a key feature of the global economy and society in recent decades. We also cover the Changing Places topic, which focuses on people’s engagement with places, their experience in them and the qualities they assign to a place with. Lastly Contemporary Urban Environments where we look into the growth of cities around the world and the significant environmental and social challenges that they present us. Unit 3 – Geographical Investigation (Non-examined assessment/ NEA) You will have experienced fieldwork as part of your GCSE but now you get the chance to really explore the Geography you care about outside of the classroom! Every 6 form Geographer is required to undertake a week long residential* where we will conduct a full enquiry into a geographical issue of your choosing. The findings of your investigation will be collated to produce a minidissertation (NEA) where you will explain your investigation and evaluate your conclusions. Previous investigations have covered a huge variety of topics including: place studies, coastal management evaluations, tourism impact assessments, examination of marine processes and many more.