The most important requirement is to have a lively and enquiring mind and an interest in the environment and current affairs. You need to show a commitment to exploring new ideas, researching information and learning to communicate your findings effectively in a number of ways. Those students who have studied GCSE Geography will find that the material and the skills that they have so far learned will prove to be a valuable foundation for further studies at this level. However, under certain circumstances, we will consider and accept students that have not studied Geography at GCSE. We suggest that students have achieved at least grade C at GCSE on the higher level paper.

What is the course like?

The course we study at Elliott is the Edexcel syllabus B. This follows an enquiry-based approach to learning which encourages thought and personal investigation. The structure for the course is as follows:

 

AS UNITS

Unit	Content	Type of Assessment	Length	% of final mark
1	Changing landforms and their management including studies of river environments and coastal environments.	Written examination	1 hr 30	16.7%
2	Managing change in human environments including studies of both rural and urban environments.	Written examination	1 hr 30	16.7%
3	Environmental investgation based upon an issue or hypohesis that is then investigated in the field by collecting primary and secondary data. This data is collected on a residential fieldtrip to Slapton Ley in Devon.	Coursework	2500 words	16.7%

 

 

A2 UNITS

Unit	Content	Type of Assessment	Length	% of final mark
1	Global challenge including the study of atmospheric processes and world ecosystems as well as population change and economic futures,	Written examination	2 hrs	15%
2	Researching global futures designed to develop research skills including an investigation of living with hazardous environments and of the social and economic factors leading to a disparity in health care across the globe.	Written examination and coursework	1 hr 20 1500 words	15%
3	Synoptic: Issues analysis exercise using all the skills and knowledge gained on the course to follow a route of enquiry on a given issue and to use decision making skills to evaluate a number of options.	Written	2 hrs	20%

 

Progression:

 

you might consider going on to study the subject at university. the wide ranging skills that you acquire will open many career paths that involve decision-making including general management, engineering, the civil service, tourism etc.