Human Geography and Physical Geography are the two main branches covered in this subject which covers so many of the vital issues that affect the world of today, including climate change, migration and natural hazards. There has arguably never been a better time to study Geography.
With the mix of technical and social skills that you will get from your studies, geographers are always highly sought after; Geography is named as one of the Russell Group universities’ facilitating subjects (so called because choosing it at A Level allows a wide range of options for degree study) and employers value the team-working, communication, research and analysis skills that are developed in IT, in the lab and as part of the fieldwork.
During each year of A Level study you will cover the two key components of Physical Geography and Human Geography. The AS course involves two 90-minute exam papers sat at the end of Year 12, the first focused on the topics of ‘coastal systems and landscapes’ and ‘contemporary urban environments’ and the second on ‘changing places and their development over time’ and ‘fieldwork investigation skills’.
The full A Level course comprises two 150-minute exam papers and in addition to the topics covered in Year 12, ‘water and carbon cycles’ and ‘natural hazards’ are studied within the Physical Geography branch and ‘global systems and governance’ and ‘urban growth and change’ within the Human Geography branch. You will also complete an independent investigation on a topic of your choice
You will continue to develop the variety of basic, investigative, cartographic, graphical, applied ICT and statistical skills that formed part of the GCSE course. Your interest in exploring the interconnectivity of the Physical and Human worlds around you is one of the key drivers for choosing to study A Level Geography. You will have good ICT skills, for example understanding databases, and good statistical awareness from your Maths studies, including the ideas of correlation, central tendency and spread.
Expect to impress future employees and prospective Higher Education provisions! This course enhances your; investigative skills, developing effective approaches to enquiry and evaluation; cartographic skills, working with and interpreting a wide variety of maps; graphical skills, including a wide-range of diagrams and effective presentation of data; ICT skills, including the use of geographical information systems, databases and digital imagery; and statistical skills, with a variety of measures for average and dispersion and various important correlation tests including Spearman’s rank.
Popular careers for people with geography qualifications include surveying, conservation, sustainability, town or transport planning, waste and water management, environmental planning, tourism, and weather forecasting. The army, government, research organisations, law and business world also recognise the practical research skills that geographers develop.
Because geographers learn about human and population development, geography can be useful for jobs in charity and international relations too. The skills that have been highlighted have huge value in a broad spectrum of studies and careers.
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