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Geography
Miss A Wyatt
Both the AS and the A level Geography syllabuses have yet to be ratified.
Academic Requirements
In order to succeed in Geography a love for the world that we live in will help you to understand
the physical and human systems at work within it. Students who have obtained at least a grade B
in Geography at GCSE are more likely to obtain a top A level grade. However, this is a subject
where genuine enthusiasm and hard work can result in pleasing results for candidates with a wide
range of abilities and backgrounds. However a desire to understand the world that we live in is
of paramount importance.
Course Specification
The OCR AS and A level specification H081/H481 continues to cover a broad range of Physical
and Human aspects of Geography. The course encourages you to be interested in the world
around you, learning about local and global issues and becoming involved in some practical field
work outside the classroom.
AS level Geography
Landscape and Place
Landscape Systems
You will study one of the following landscapes: Coastal landscapes, Glaciated environments or
Drylands. For the selected landscape, you will study factors affecting landscapes, landform
development, influence of climate change, and impact of human activity.
Changing Spaces; Making Places
You will study two contrasting places at a local scale, for example an urban area and a rural area.
For each place, you will study
 How these places are understood and represented.
 Economic change and social inequality, within these areas.
 What makes a place (urban or rural area) distinctive?
The examination for this component will also contain geographical skills and fieldwork
questions.
Geographical Debates
You will choose any one of these five topic areas to study in depth:
Climate Change, Disease Dilemmas, Exploring Oceans, Future of Food, or Hazardous Earth.
A level Geography
Landscape and Place
Landscape Systems
You will study one of the following landscapes: Coastal landscapes, Glaciated environments or
Drylands. For the selected landscape, you will study factors affecting landscapes, landform
development, influence of climate change, and impact of human activity.
Earth’s Life Support Systems: You will study the importance of water and carbon to life on
earth, case studies of Tropical Rainforest and Arctic Tundra, and how these habitats change over
time. You will look at the links and interdependence between the cycles.
Human Interactions
Changing Spaces
You will study two contrasting places at a local scale.
For each place, you will study:
 How place is understood and represented
 Economic change and social inequality, with players involved
 Placemaking processes in creating places
Global Connections: You will study our increasingly interconnected world with patterns,
unequal flows, challenges and geopolitics which are studied through two of the following
options:
Global Systems: Option A – Trade in the contemporary world or Option B – Global Migration.
Global Governance: Option C – Human Rights or Option D – Power and Borders.
Geographical Debates:
You will choose any one of these five topic areas to study in depth:
Climate Change, Disease Dilemmas, Exploring Oceans, Future of Food, or Hazardous Earth.
Why Geography?
Geography is fun, and can be studied at university as an Art or Science. Graduates are extremely
marketable and enter a wide range of professions, many of them not strictly geographical in
content, but with a geographical basis (planning, transport, surveying, conservation/ecology,
tourism, marketing, even teaching). There are opportunities to gain key skills such as ICT
competency, working with others and communication skills.
A Student’s Perspective
“The AS Geography course is similar to GCSE but the subjects are studied to a greater depth.
The lessons are really interesting and fun – I especially enjoy debating new topics with my
classmates. The A level offers grounding in both human and physical geography that can be
taken further.”
“One of the best aspects of the Geography course is the field trips, which always prove to be
exciting.”