GEOGRAPHY AS / A LEVEL
Scarborough Sixth Form College offers Geography available at both A-level (2-year course) and AS-level (1-year course). Specification (syllabus): Edexcel. The AS-level forms the first year of the A-level course.
Are there any special requirements?
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The better your GCSE grades in ALL subjects, the better your chances of passing A-level Geography.
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You do not need to have taken GCSE Geography.
What and how will I be studying?
Geography includes a huge variety of knowledge and skills. A Geographer needs to be a good all-rounder who enjoys arts, humanities and sciences.
AS - Year 1
Unit 1: “Global Challenges”
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“World at Risk”: Cyclones, droughts, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, avalanches.
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Big emphasis on global warming and climate change.
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“Going Global”: Rich/poor nation disparity, trade, travel, population, employment, health, urbanisation. Big emphasis on green and humanitarian issues.
Unit 2: “Geographical Investigations”
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“Crowded Coasts”: Managing the physical environment, to cope with the impact of development pressures on the coastline.
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“Rebranding Places”: Economic and social regeneration of urban and rural areas.
A2 - Year 2
Unit 3: “Contested Planet “
ALL of the following topics will be studied:
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Energy Security
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Water Conflicts
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Biodiversity Under Threat
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Superpower Geographies
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Bridging the Development Gap
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The Technological Fix?
Unit 4: “Geographical Research”
Only ONE of the following options will be studied (to be chosen by tutor)
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Tectonic Activity and Hazards
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Cold Environments – Landscapes and Change
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Life on the Margins – The Food Supply problem
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The World of Cultural Diversity
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Pollution and Human Health Risk
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Consuming the Rural Landscape – Leisure and Tourism
How is the Course assessed?
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Units 1 and 2 (A and AS-level) are assessed by written exams in year 1.
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Units 3 and 4 (A-level only) are assessed by written exams in year 2.
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There is no coursework. You will do fieldwork but it is NOT submitted for marking.
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If you do badly in a unit, you can resit it in January or June, and your best attempt counts.
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You may decide to drop Geography after Year 1 and claim an AS-level.
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You may decide to stay on and convert your AS-level into a full A-level.
What skills will I need and be developing during the course?
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Communication: Writing and speaking skills will be developed and assessed throughout the course.
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ICT: We will expect as many as possible of your written assignments to be word-processed. The Internet will be used for researching topics. Spreadsheet skills can be used to analyse and graph fieldwork data.
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Maths: The course will include the calculation and interpretation of statistics like correlation coefficients, and a wide variety of data collection, sampling and graphing methods.
What career opportunities are there?
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Like most other A-levels, Geography does not train you to enter any specific career. However, the sheer breadth of the subject and variety of skills involved, makes geographers exceptionally flexible in today’s changing job market. If you have no idea what career you want, Geography is a good choice, because it is so broad that it keeps lots of options open.
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The most popular careers for geographers tend to be in finance and accountancy, administration and management, and sales and marketing. Some become teachers, some follow careers in travel and tourism, others specialise in environmental planning and try to save the planet.
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In general, if you know what career you want to follow, our advice is to consult a careers specialist to check if any particular subject is necessary for that career.
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Most careers merely demand a high level of education, and the subjects you choose don’t matter too much.
…and what else?
We run a number of fieldwork days in the local area.