Geography
There has never been a more important time to study Geography
The World needs geographers. Faced with climate change, resource depletion, more frequent and severe natural hazards and growing cities, Planet Earth needs people that can interpret and understand the relationships between the human and physical worlds. GCSE Geography explores the challenges faced by human beings and aims to identify solutions for all our futures.
Why study geography?
Geography is diverse and contemporary and relevant to everything around you. This exciting course examines the battles between man-made and natural worlds. If you currently enjoy geography, have a keen interest in real issues and world events that affect us all then this subject would be an excellent choice.
Geography is hugely valued by employers, colleges and universities as it encourages independent thinking, informed citizens and also develops a broad range of transferable skills such as information analysis and critical evaluation.
Curriculum
| Year 10 | Year 11 | |
|---|---|---|
| Aut.1 | 1.C – River Landscapes UK | 1.A – The Challenge of Natural Hazards (revisited). Tectonic and climatic Hazards. |
| Aut.2 | 1.B – The Living World | 1.A – The Challenge of Natural Hazards (revisited). Climatic hazards and Climate Change. |
| Spr.1 | 2.A – Urban Issues and Challenges | 2.B – The Changing Economic World |
| Spr.2 | 3.B – Human Fieldwork. Norwich Riverside. | 2.C – The Challenge of Resource Management |
| Sum.1 | 1.C – Coastal Landscapes UK | 3.A – Issue Evaluation and Revision |
| Sum.2 | 3.B – Physical Fieldwork. Southwold |
How is the course structured?
100% exam. Three exams all completed at the end of Year 11. You will need to be good at writing and examinations.
PAPER 1: Living with the Physical Environment. 1½ hours – 35% of the GCSE.
Topics: Tectonic Hazards, Climatic Hazards, Climate Change, The Living World (tropical rainforests and hot deserts), Physical Landscapes in the UK (coasts and rivers).
PAPER 2: Challenges in the Human Environment. 1½ hours – 35% of the GCSE.
Topics: Urban Issues and Challenges (urban change and sustainability), The Changing Economic World (development and the changing UK economy), The Challenge of Resource Management (food, water and energy)
PAPER 3: Geographical Applications and Skills
Topics: Issue Evaluation, Fieldwork and Geographical Skills. In order to complete this paper, there will be 2 days of fieldwork - one day in a physical environment and another in a human environment.
Career Pathways
What does it lead to?
The new Geography GCSE provides an excellent basis for A Level both in Geography and a range of other subjects including Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Economics, Sociology and Politics.
Employers, Sixth Form Colleges and Universities value the important range of transferable skills that geography delivers. Indeed, geography has one of the highest graduate employment rates of any subject. It is broad, giving a breadth of study; it teaches fieldwork skills, teamwork, data analysis and it gives students a truly global outlook in an increasingly interdependent world.
For more information click on our A Level Geography course.
For advice on apprenticeship courses, click here.
Career Options
Green Careers: This is a significant growth sector with a wide variety of roles. Check out our webpage to find out more.
You can watch a great series of videos of young people who are working in jobs that use Geography on the BBC Bitesize website
For example careers leading from this subject, click here.
THINK Geography THINK Apprenticeships from Amazing Apprenticeships on Vimeo.