We aim to provide a high-quality geography education which should inspire in students a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Teaching should equip students with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.
As students progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments which will be explored through fieldwork.
Welcome to the Edexcel Geography A GCSE program! Our curriculum is tailored to inspire a deep understanding of the world around us. Through engaging lessons and hands-on experiences, you'll delve into the intricate relationships between humans and their environment. From analysing global patterns to investigating real-world issues, this course equips you with the tools to decipher complex geographical challenges.
With a focus on critical thinking, data interpretation, and practical fieldwork, you'll not only excel in your exams but also develop a lifelong appreciation for the dynamic forces that shape our planet. Join us on this educational journey as we explore the Edexcel Geography A GCSE and unlock a new perspective on the world!
Component 1: The Physical Environment
This component brings together physical geography and people-environment processes and interactions. The component is divided into three sections:
Component 2: The Human Environment
This component brings together human geography and people-environment issues. The component is divided into three sections:
Component 3: Geographical Investigations: Fieldwork and UK Challenges
This component brings together practical geographical enquiry into physical and human processes and environments and the interactions between the two. The component is divided into two sections:
Welcome to the fascinating and relevant A Level Geography curriculum! Our course offers an enriching exploration of the intricate interactions between the physical world and human societies. Through thought-provoking discussions, advanced research, and immersive fieldwork, you'll gain a profound understanding of the complex forces that shape our planet. From climate change to global development, this course empowers you to dissect pressing issues and contribute to informed solutions.
With a focus on analytical skills, critical thinking, and independent research, you'll develop the expertise needed to excel in exams and beyond. Join us as we embark on a journey of discovery, unearthing the fascinating connections that define our world within the framework of Edexcel A Level Geography.
Topic 1: Tectonic Processes and Hazards
Tectonic hazards – earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and secondary hazards such as tsunamis – represent a significant risk in some parts of the world. This is especially the case where active tectonic plate boundaries interact with areas of high population density and low levels of development. Resilience in these places can be low, and the interaction of physical systems with vulnerable populations can result in major disasters. An in-depth understanding of the causes of tectonic hazards is key to both increasing the degree to which they can be managed, and putting in place successful responses that can mitigate social and economic impacts and allow humans to adapt to hazard occurrence.
Option 2B: Coastal Landscapes and Change
Coastal landscapes develop due to the interaction of winds, waves and currents, as well as through the contribution of both terrestrial and offshore sources of sediment. These flows of energy and variations in sediment budgets interact with the prevailing geological and lithological characteristics of the coast to operate as coastal systems and produce distinctive coastal landscapes, including those in rocky, sandy and estuarine coastlines. These landscapes are increasingly threatened from physical processes and human activities, and there is a need for holistic and sustainable management of these areas in all the world’s coasts. Study must include examples of landscapes from inside and outside the UK.
Topic 3: Globalisation
Globalisation and global interdependence continue to accelerate, resulting in changing opportunities for businesses and people. Inequalities are caused within and between countries as shifts in patterns of wealth occur. Cultural impacts on the identity of communities increase as flows of ideas, people and goods take place. Recognising that both tensions in communities and pressures on environments are likely, will help players implement sustainable solutions.
Option 4A: Regenerating Places
Local places vary economically and socially with change driven by local, national and global processes. These processes include movements of people, capital, information and resources, making some places economically dynamic while other places appear to be marginalised. This creates and exacerbates considerable economic and social inequalities both between and within local areas. Urban and rural regeneration programmes involving a range of players involve both place making (regeneration) and place marketing (rebranding). Regeneration programmes impact variably on people both in terms of their lived experience of change and their perception and attachment to places. The relative success of regeneration and rebranding for individuals and groups depends on the extent to which lived experience, perceptions, and attachments to places are changed.
Topic 5: The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity
Water plays a key role in supporting life on earth. The water cycle operates at a variety of spatial scales and also at short- and long-term timescales, from global to local. Physical processes control the circulation of water between the stores on land, in the oceans, in the cryosphere, and the atmosphere. Changes to the most important stores of water are a result of both physical and human processes. Water insecurity is becoming a global issue with serious consequences and there is a range of different approaches to managing water supply.
Topic 6: The Carbon Cycle and Energy Security
A balanced carbon cycle is important in maintaining planetary health. The carbon cycle operates at a range of spatial scales and timescales, from seconds to millions of years. Physical processes control the movement of carbon between stores on land, the oceans and the atmosphere. Changes to the most important stores of carbon and carbon fluxes are a result of physical and human processes. Reliance on fossil fuels has caused significant changes to carbon stores and contributed to climate change resulting from anthropogenic carbon emissions. The water and carbon cycles and the role of feedbacks in and between the two cycles, provide a context for developing an understanding of climate change. Anthropogenic climate change poses a serious threat to the health of the planet. There is a range of adaptation and mitigation strategies that could be used, but for them to be successful they require global agreements as well as national actions.
Topic 7: Superpowers
Superpowers can be developed by a number of characteristics. The pattern of dominance has changed over time. Superpowers and emerging superpowers have a very significant impact on the global economy, global politics and the environment. The spheres of influence between these powers are frequently contested, resulting in geopolitical implications.
Option 8B: Migration, Identity and Sovereignty
Globalisation involves movements of capital, goods and people. Tensions can result between the logic of globalisation, with its growing levels of environmental, social and economic interdependence among people, economies and nation states and the traditional definitions of national sovereignty and territorial integrity. International migration not only changes the ethnic composition of populations but also changes attitudes to national identity. At the same time, nationalist movements have grown in some places challenging dominant models of economic change and redefining ideas of national identity. Global governance has developed to manage a number of common global issues (environmental, social, political and economic) and has a mixed record in its success in dealing with them. It has promoted growth and political stability for some people in some places whilst not benefiting others. Unequal power relations have tended to lead to unequal environmental, social and economic outcomes.
GCSE Geography Grade 6 if studied or; Grade 6 in any related subject.
Biology usually required too if applying for Geography at university.
