GCSE  Edexcel Syllabus 1312

Geography for GCSE contains a mixture of the work covered in years 7-9, including revisiting some of the themes studied earlier - so pupils can reasonably know what to expect.  As at Key Stage 3 the geography course uses and encourages the development of a wide range of skills, from reading and interpreting maps and diagrams to the use of written sources.  Increasingly computers and information technology are playing a role in our work and so computer literacy, always encouraged, is now required. 

EdExcel A   this is a new course, that aims to reduce the overload of content of previous years, and has been taught first from September 2001  

A1 The Physical World

Selected coastal, river and glacier features will be studied. This will involve looking at river landscapes, from the uplands to the plains, with a special study of how glaciers cut their massive valleys. The features of several types of coast will conclude this section.

Goosenecks in Utah, the River San Juan incised meanders 1980

A2 The Human World

Population issues, such as world population growth and the ageing of populations, will lead to a study of settlements, their growth and their structure.

Canary Wharf

A3 The Economic World

The types and extent of farming, both in this country and around the world, will be investigated. In this section also will be a look at how industry locates itself and develops – and this promises to be a very topical section.

A4 The environmental World

This section looks at promoting an understanding of the workings of British weather, and how our climate may be changing. The ecology of forest environments also feature – with a special look at rainforests.

Heavy snow in Wiltshire in the 1970's

B5 Managing Hazards

The workings and impacts of the great climate natural hazards, such as tropical storms, share time with the geologic hazards of earthquakes and volcanoes. All are studied in developed, and developing areas of the world.

The aftermath of the devastating Stubai flood near Innsbruck, August 1987

C7 Managing Tourism

The growth and importance of global tourism will be studied, at all scales and from many angles. After looking at the organisation of various forms of tourism, the course will conclude with the environmental impacts on coastal and mountain areas, and the growing role of eco-tourism.

Ingleborough Hill in the distance, with Low Bentham in the foreground.