Geography

 

Departmental Staff

Head of Department: Mrs A Mackin

  • Mrs A M Murray
  • Mr D McKenna
  • Mrs B Cunningham

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Curriculum

GCSE (Years 11 & 12)

 

GCSE Students carrying out field work for their coursework at St Paul’s on the topic of rivers 

 

Unit 1 – Physical Geography

Section A:

  • 1. The restless earth
  • 2. Challenge of weather and climate

Section B:

  • Water on the land

Style of assessment:

  • 1 hour 30 minute examination – 37.5%
  • Candidates answer three questions, one from Section A and one from Section B plus free choice of one other.

 

Unit 2 – Human Geography

Section A:

  • Population Change

Section B:

  • The development gap
  • Either globalization or tourism

Style of Assessment:

  • 1 hour 30 minute examination – 37.5%
  • Candidates answer three questions, one from Section A and one from Section B plus free choice of one other.
Unit 3 – Fieldwork investigation
  • Controlled assessment – 25%

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A Level (Years 13 & 14)

 

AS.1

This unit has two sections. In section A the student will learn how to collect data first hand from physical and human environments by using equipment, surveys or questionnaires and use this information to provide a written report. In section B the student will study physical processes and systems and human interaction with them. This will be through a range of scales and in a range of places. The focus will be on rivers, ecosystems and weather.

St Paul’s A Level students conducting a fieldwork investigation

 

A)   Fieldwork Investigation:

  • Summary fieldwork report
  • Table of data

B)   The fluvial Environment:

  • Processes and features in the fluvial environments
  • Human interaction with the fluvial environment
  • The ecosystem as an open system
  • Plant succession
  • Human interaction with ecosystems
  • Atmospheric processes
  • Mid-latitude weather systems
  • Extreme weather events

AS.2

This unit is divided into two sections. Section A will focus on data collection and processing. In section B the student will study human processes, systems and outcomes. This unit will study various aspects of population; rural and urban environments; and development.

Through both of the AS units the students will learn how to analyse and interpret maps and other imagery as well as how to develop your data processing skills such as drawing annotated sketch maps.

A)   Human Geography:

  • Population – data, structure, resources.
  • Settlement – challenges for rural environments as well as planning issues, challenges for urban environments.
  • Development – nature and measurement of development and issues.

B)   Skills and Techniques:

  • Handling quantitative and qualitative data.

A2.1

A)   Impact of Population Change:

  1. Natural population change
  2. Migration (causes, streams and impacts)
  3. Population policies

B)   Issues in Ethnic Diversity:

  1. Definition of Ethnicity
  2. The process which creates and maintains diversity
  3. Ethnic conflict

C)   Global Issues:

  1. Issues in tourism – statistics and handling data

A2.2

A)   Fluvial and Coastal Environments

The Dynamic Earth

B)   Section B comprises a decision making exercise, which takes the form of an externally set case study provided by the examination board.