COURSES

Geography
Overview
This A level course will appeal to those pupils who:
• Have an interest in and concern for the
environment.
• Are interested in current affairs.
• Enjoy studying a subject that is relevant to their
own lives and experiences.
• Want the opportunity to carry out practical
work outdoors as well as class work.
• Enjoy finding out their own answers, not just
being taught them.
• Want to broaden their AS or A level studies to
cover both the sciences and the humanities.
• Enjoy travel and finding out about new people,
places, landscapes and events.
• Want to keep their options open.
Approach
Fieldwork is an essential element of this course and
will take place at a range of locations and times,
including two residential courses. These trips are vital
to you in helping to provide a fuller understanding of
many geographical topics by applying them to real
examples. Many people learn particularly well
outside of the classroom, where they are able to
interact more properly with the subject. Curiosity is
an essential element for a good geographer.
Geography is multi-disciplinary and features a
wide range of skills. It is, at times, essay based,
mathematical, problem solving, evaluative and
analytical. In order to achieve well you will need to
read widely and be prepared for extended writing
and research.
Course outline
AS level Geography consists of two units of
assessment; each a 1 1 /2 hour paper:
1. Have you ever been wowed by a beautiful view
Managing the Physical Environment will help
you to understand the reasons behind it and how
and why humans are altering, protecting and
managing it. We look at river environments, the
coasts and cold places.
2. Everywhere you go, people have had their
effect on their environment. Managing the
Human Environment helps you to develop an
understanding of the processes that produce
these places, the principle changes which are
occurring and how humans are trying to
manage those changes. We look at change in
the towns and cities; change in the countryside
and at tourism.
The A level comprises of the AS units plus two A2
units (of 2 1 /2 hours and 1 1 /2 hours):
1. You only have to open the newspaper to know
that there are such a lot of key changes and
challenges happening at a global scale. Global
Issues will help you to understand the processes
responsible for these issues, how humans are
responding and the different consequences.
We study development, earth hazards, climatic
hazards and globalisation.
2. Geographical Skills will allow you to devise,
and to interpret the results of geographical
investigation, including eldwork (we do two
residential trips to help with this). You will
also work on the skills needed to complete
investigation, an awareness of problems and
an ability to evaluate outcomes.
Many lessons tend to be tutorial based. There is
extensive use of ICT and of AV resources.
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Millfield Sixth Form Courses 2014-2015