Geography

Cambridge 9696 Mr Jeremy Boot

Geography is a living, breathing subject, constantly adapting itself to change. It is dynamic and relevant. For me geography is a great adventure with a purpose.” - Michael Palin, former President of the Royal Geographical Society

Why should I study Geography?

Our course teaches pupils a considerable variety of subject matter with a balance roughly equal between human and physical geography. Pupils learn a wide range of geographical skills and the opportunity for fieldwork opens up the possibility to travel and study in outstanding locations. The subject bridges the gap between the arts and the sciences and A level geographers develop diverse skills, from essay writing to statistical analysis.

What do I need to know or be able to do before taking Geography?

It is not a requirement that you should have studied Geography at GCSE in order to take an A level course in the subject. However, those pupils who have studied GCSE Geography will find that the material and the skills they have learnt will prove a valuable foundation for further study.

What will I learn? • That physical and human geography are interwoven – physical events frequently demand human responses, from the use and abuse of • natural resources to hazard management. An understanding of the importance of scale, whether considering global issues such as world population and atmospheric circulation, to the analysis of local and national trends, for instance • in the redevelopment of inner cities. Practical fieldwork skills, including planning and devising strategies for data collection, and then carrying them out and analysing and presenting • the results. How to construct essays, selecting appropriate exemplars and case studies to provide

substantive evidence, and how to balance arguments whilst drawing conclusions which • show values and viewpoints. That geography is an acutely contemporary subject rarely out of the news, with decisions being made at governmental and other levels which will affect our country and planet.

Who is this course suitable for?

The course is suitable for those who take a lively interest in the world around them and enjoy the challenge of a subject with a significant spread of skills and themes. Indeed one of the reasons why degree geography is so appreciated by employers is because of the outward looking nature of the subject, something the course emphasises with case studies from many different parts of the world. Geography is also a practical subject and as such particularly appropriate for pupils who enjoy study outside the classroom, whether discovering the urban structure of Bristol or viewing the amazing landforms in Iceland.

What could I go on and do at the end of my course?

Many pupils want to continue studying to university level: last year four pupils applied to study Geography and recently pupils have gone to universities including Durham, Loughborough, Reading, Exeter, Nottingham, Sheffield and Queen Mary, London.

A familiar question is ‘what can you do with geography’? It may come as a surprise to some that university educated geographers are highly employable in a wide range of sectors including the arts, financial services, travel, law and other professional capacities. That geography draws from other subjects is far from being a burden; after all, with its own unique interpretative skills, its ability to set the natural world within the human context, its use of both written and numerical skills it is hardly surprising that it should be the kind of subject greatly in demand with employers.

Geography (Continued)

Which course do we follow?

We use the Cambridge International A level specification (9696). The course maintains the balance between physical and human geography established at GCSE.

Paper: Core Physical Geography

Timing: 1 hour 30 minutes Proportion of A level: 25%

Content:

Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology Atmosphere and weather Rocks and weathering

Paper: Core Human Geography

Timing: 1 hour 30 minutes Proportion of A level: 25%

Content:

Population Migration Settlement dynamics

Paper: Advanced Physical Geography

Timing: 1 hour 30 minutes Proportion of A level: 25%

Content:

Coastal environments Hazardous environments

Paper: Advanced Human Geography

Timing: 1 hour 30 minutes Proportion of A level: 25%

Content:

Global interdependence Economic transition

Additional Costs

There are no additional costs associated with the local fieldwork opportunities offered in Geography. We run a very popular and interesting course to London, staying at the Youth Hostel in Rotherhithe, and visiting the London Docklands Redevelopment area, Spitalfields in London’s East End and the City of London. We anticipate running this trip again which had a modest cost of around £60 attached to it. We also visit Exmoor for a river study or Dartmoor to study weathering, and the Exmoor coast in the Upper Sixth to conduct a coastal study.

The biennial trip to Iceland is not mandatory, but costs in the order of £1000. This is a joint trip with the Geology department, enabling lower costs. These trips have proved tremendously successful, enabling pupils to study volcanoes, geysers, glaciers, waterfalls, lava flows and in most years see the Northern Lights.