Exam Board – AQA

Qualification – A Level 7037

Entry requirements – GCSE grade 5 in English language and Maths, and grade 5 in Geography

Course specification

Geography is a dynamic, contemporary subject that can inspire a deep interest in the complex world around us. Students learn a wide range of transferable skills through the course, including collecting, analysing, and interpreting data, problem solving, individual and group research and a variety of forms of communication. The skills are in great demand and are recognised by employers and universities as being of great value.

Many of the world’s current issues – at a global scale and locally – boil down to geography, and need the geographers of the future to help us understand them. Global warming as it affects countries and regions, food and energy security, the degradation of land and soils from over-use and misuse, the spread of disease, the causes and consequences of migration, and the impacts of economic change on places and communities. These are just some of the challenges facing the next generation, which geographers must help solve.

Syllabus content:

  • physical geography (including water and carbon cycles, coastal systems and landscapes, hazards)
  • human geography (including changing places, global systems and governance, population and the environment)
  • fieldwork investigation, which will include 4 days of studies on location within the UK
  • geographical skills using maps, graphs and statistics

Students are examined by:

  • written examinations
  • independent geographical investigation