GCE A Level (Advanced Level) Geography – When learners are enquiring about the A Level Geography course through Learn Now Distance Learning College, they normally query the awarding body along with the fieldwork requirements. We are pleased to confirm that our A Level Geography course offered is with Cambridge and there are no physical fieldwork assessments to complete. We will detail more in this article.
Geography Lessons Online
It is great news for learners that A Level Geography is a subject that can be completed by learners worldwide and Geography Lessons can be accessed from the comfort of their own home.
The Advanced Level Geography course includes access to the online learner portal for two years, eBooks, tutor support, assignment marking and feedback including mock exam papers. Learners will just need to attend a local exam centre on their exam dates and these would be booked separately to the course.
Geography A Level
If you have covered Geography at GCSE level, you would have learnt about population, urbanisation, the natural environment (earthquakes, rivers, coasts and weather) and economic development. GCE Advanced Level Geography will develop your knowledge on these points from local to global.
The Cambridge A Level Geography course is split as follows:
- Physical Geography
- Human Geography
Here is a bit more information on each topic.
Physical Geography
Physical geography focuses on the natural environment and the physical features of the Earth which are constantly changing.
You will learn about the hydrological cycle including outputs such as evaporation, evapotranspiration and river discharge. You will also cover hydrographs and how different factors affect storm hydrographs.
As mentioned earlier, physical features are constantly changing on Earth and physical geography covers landforms such as erosion, deposition & sedimentation, river flow and channel types. Niagara Falls is just one of the world’s greatest waterfalls and the Geography A Level course will help you to understand the formation of waterfalls.
Physical Geography also covers the atmosphere, weather processes and phenomena.
You will learn how the Earth is made up of a number of layers and the evidence for plate tectonics. For weathering you will earn about physical/mechanical weathering and chemical weathering. You will also cover weathering characteristics in four climate regions: Glacial, Temperate, Arid/semi-arid and Humid Tropical regions.
Finally for this section you will begin to understand how humans have impacted the physical environment. This can include the formation of dams, urbanisation and vegetation.
Why is Physical Geography important?
Physical geography helps everyone understand how natural disasters can happen. This can include tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires and floods etc. In turn, scientists will constantly learn more about climate change and environment conservation. Understanding these topics allows us to support planning and sustainable development and manage our resources better such as water, forests and minerals.
Human Geography
Human geography studies relationships between people and their environments. For example, a high population can affect the availability of land and resources such as water but so can natural disasters such as earthquakes. This can also cause migration (the movement of people across a specified boundary). In turn, population is also affected by birth and death rates.
You will also cover rural-urban migration and urban-rural migration including the consequences of urban growth and technological change.
Why is Human Geography important?
Human Geography helps us understand humans within societies, cultures and economics. This can include how everyone survives, use resources and interact with the physical environment. It can help us understand globalisation and cultural diversity allowing everyone to appreciate each other and the world we live in.
Is Geography A Level hard?
The biggest hurdle with Advanced Level Geography is having an interest in the subject. At A Level, you will be required to go off and carry out your own research on certain aspects of the course. You would really need to show an interest in the subject in order to do so.
As Geography is technically a science subject, you will also need to have a basic understanding of Mathematics. This will include skills in:
- Graphs, charts and tables
- Percentages and ratios
- 2-D and 3-D forms
- Calculate areas of triangles, rectangles, surface areas and volumes of cubes
- Conversions between units
- Significant figures, decimal places and accuracy
- Inferential statistical tests
- Sampling and data
Geography Fieldwork
Many learners studying the A Level Geography course ask what is required of them for the fieldwork assessment.
Generally if you are studying the A Level Geography course with an awarding body like AQA or Edexcel, you will be required to complete a fieldwork investigation. With AQA for example, this would be four days of fieldwork where the centre must confirm that the learner has undertaken these days of fieldwork in relation to processes in both physical and human geography.
Our college doesn’t offer AQA nor Edexcel for GCE A Level Geography due to the limited centres available for the fieldwork requirements and the high costs private candidates would incur from arranging these 4 days.
The A Level Geography course we have on offer is with Cambridge International Education (CIE) and the exams will be 100% exam based. Therefore, learners will only need to arrange exams for this specification and there will be no fieldwork investigation to complete.
Other reasons why learners prefer Cambridge Geography compared to AQA Geography include:
- A choice of two exam series (May/June or October/November). With AQA, you only have one exam sitting in May/June.
- Course can be split into IAS (year 1) and IA2 (year 2) meaning learners can split their exams to help relieve pressure if they wish to.
- Cambridge offer worldwide examinations rather than just within the UK.
Cambridge A Level Geography
The Cambridge GCE A Level Geography course will encourage learners to think like a Geographer and explore key concepts in geography through the study of a broad range of topics and 21st century issues.
Students will learn about the world around them by applying their knowledge to their own local, national and regional context.
This will include an understanding of physical and human environmental challenges, including climate change, and introducing concepts such as sustainable development.
