Geography A-Level

What board do we use?

Edexcel

What is Geography?

“So 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 overuse and misuse, the spread of disease, the causes and consequences of migration, and the impacts of economic change on places and communities.” Michael Palin (Former RGS-IBG President)

Geography is the study of Earth’s landscapes, peoples, places and environments. It is, quite simply, about the world in which we live.

Geography is unique in bridging the social sciences (human geography) with the natural sciences (physical geography). Human geography concerns the understanding of the dynamics of cultures, societies and economies, and physical geography concerns the understanding of the dynamics of physical landscapes and the environment.

Geography puts this understanding of social and physical processes within the context of places and regions – recognising the great differences in cultures, political systems, economies, landscapes and environments across the world, and the links between them. Understanding the causes of differences and inequalities between places and social groups underlie much of the newer developments in human geography.

In the broadest sense, Geography is an education for life and for living. Learning through geography – whether gained through formal learning or experientially through travel, fieldwork and expeditions – helps us all to be more socially and environmentally sensitive, informed and responsible citizens and employees.

Geography informs us about

• The places and communities in which we live and work
• Our natural environments and the pressures they face
• The interconnectedness of the world and our communities within it
• How and why the world is changing, globally and locally
• How our individual and societal
  actions contribute to those changes
• The choices that exist in managing our world for the future
• The importance of location in business and decision-making

Which subjects combine well with geography?

Economics, Psychology, History, Sociology, Biology and Mathematics.

What can geography lead to?

Geography provides an ideal framework for relating other fields of knowledge. It is not surprising that those trained as geographers often contribute substantially to the applied management of resources and environments.

Geography A-Level Course Structure

The AS syllabus

AS Paper 1:  50% of the marks
1 hour 45 minutes
Area of study 1:
Topic 1: Tectonic Processes and Hazards
Topic 2: Landscape systems, processes and change: Coastal Landscapes and Change*
Fieldwork:  Topic 2 will also involve fieldwork

AS Paper 2: 50% of the marks
1 hour 45 minutes

Area of Study 2
Topic 3: Globalisation
Topic 4 Shaping Places: Regenerating places*
Fieldwork: Topic 4 will also involve fieldwork
*Subject to change

The A-Level syllabus

A level paper 1:  30% of the marks
2 hours and 15 minutes
Topic 1 Tectonic processes
Topic 2 Landscapes systems: Coastal landscapes
Topic 5 the water cycle and water insecurity
Topic 6 the carbon cycle and energy security

If you’d like to study Geography A Level here at David Game College Liverpool, please complete the enquiry form below or email for more information.