KS4 Geography
Aims of the subject:
Our subject enables a variety of teaching and learning approaches. This exciting and relevant course studies geography in a balanced framework of physical and human themes and investigates the link between them. Students will travel the world from their classroom, exploring case studies in the United Kingdom, higher income countries (HICs), newly emerging economies (NEEs) and lower income countries (LICs).
Topics of study include climate change, poverty, deprivation, global shifts in economic power and the challenge of sustainable resource use. Students are also encouraged to understand their role in society, by considering different viewpoints, values and attitudes. Upon completion of this two year course, students will have the skills and experience to progress onto A-level and beyond.
GCSE Examination Board: AQA
Assessment Overview:
Paper 1: Living with the physical environment
Written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes 88 marks (including3 marks for spelling, punctuation, grammar and specialist terminology (SPaG))
Paper 2: Challenges in the human environment
Written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes 88 marks (including3 marks for spelling, punctuation, grammar and specialist terminology (SPaG))
Paper 3: Geographical applications
Written exam: 1 hour 15 minutes 76 marks (including 6 marks for spelling, punctuation, grammar and specialist terminology (SPaG))
Pre-release resources booklet made available 12 weeks before Paper 3 exam.
| Year | What will I learn? | Assessment |
| 10 | Term 1
Paper 1 Section B – Living World – Ecosystems – Tropical rainforests-challenges, opportunities and sustainable management of each. Paper 2 Section A: Urban issues and challenges Intro. Urbanisation and problems of growth. Problems with the growth of LIC/NEE (Rio in Brazil). Paper 1 Section B: Deserts challenges, opportunities and sustainable management of each. Paper 1 Section A: Weather hazards, causes and effects, extreme weather in the UK.
Term 2 Paper 1 Section C: Physical landscapes Relief of the UK, River processes and landforms of the UK, managing flooding. Paper 2 Section B: Looking at uneven development- causes and effects and how to manage this. Paper 2 Section A: Urban change in cities in the UK leads to a variety of social, economic and environmental opportunities and challenges. Liverpool and Freiburg.
Term 3 Paper 3 Fieldwork – Field Study completed in Spring 2 – Human: Is Liverpool One Sustainable? Paper 1 Section C: Physical landscapes in the UK. Coastal processes and landforms of the UK, managing erosion. Paper 3 Fieldwork – Field Study completed in Summer 1 – Physical: How does vegetation change with distance from the sea?
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There is a short end of unit assessment frequently for each section of the course using previous exam questions and mark schemes
During the month of November there will be a short mock exam on taught content up until this point
There will be full mock exams during the Year 10 Mock Week in June
Homework will also take the form of past paper questions and revision. |
| 11 | Term 1
Paper 1 Section A: Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are the result of physical processes. Climate Change, it’s causes, effects, and responses
Paper 2 Section B: The changing economic world. Looking at uneven development- causes and effects and how to manage this. Case studies of NEE (Nigeria) and HIC (UK), looking at the change of industry and the impacts on the social, economic and environmental aspects of the country.
Term 2 Paper 2 Section C: The challenge of resource management- food, water and energy with a focus on energy. Paper 3 Section A: Issue evaluation- topic unknown until the pre-release in March.
Term 3 Revision and exam preparation |
There is a short end of unit assessment for each section of the course using previous exam questions and mark schemes
Mock exam of all taught content will take place during the January mock exams
Homework will also take the form of past paper questions and revision. |
Co-curricular opportunities
Revision opportunities available lunchtimes and after school. Please see the revision timetable, when published, for further details.
There is a fieldtrip to Liverpool One where we explore the sustainability of the retail complex and visit different areas around the city
There is also a fieldtrip to Ainsdale beach where we focus on the changing vegetation in the sand dunes
There is also international trip to Iceland where we look at the amazing tectonic features that this young country has to offer.
How you can support your child’s progress
Your child will be set a weekly revision and retrieval homework, please support your child by testing that they have completed this work every week. We highly recommend that you purchase a revision guide to aid your child’s studies, the link to the one we advise is below. This guide is cheaper when purchased through the school. https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/secondary-books/gcse/back-to-school-gcse/gas42-new-gcse-9-1-geography-aqa-complete-revisi
