A Level Geography

• The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity (Year 2)
  Water plays a key role in supporting life on Earth. Changes to the most important stores of water are a result of both physical and human processes. Water insecurity is becoming a global issue with serious consequences and there is a range of different approaches to managing water supply.
• The Carbon Cycle and Energy Security (Year 2)
  A balanced carbon cycle is important in maintaining planetary health. Changes to the most important stores of carbon and carbon fluxes are a result of physical and human processes. Reliance on fossil fuels has caused significant changes to carbon stores and contributed to climate change resulting from anthropogenic carbon emissions.

Paper 2 (externally-assessed written examination; 30% of the A Level)

• Globalisation (Year 1)
  Globalisation and global interdependence continue to accelerate, resulting in changing opportunities, inequalities and cultural impacts. Recognising tensions in communities and pressures on environments will help players implement sustainable solutions.
• Diverse Places (Year 1)
  Local places vary both demographically and culturally with change driven by local, national and global processes. Variations in past and present connections with places lead to very different lived experiences of places at a local level.
• Superpowers (Year 2)
  Superpowers and emerging superpowers have a very significant impact on the global economy, global politics and the environment. The spheres of influence between these powers are frequently contested, resulting in geopolitical implications.
• Health, Human Rights and Intervention (Year 2)
  Traditional definitions of development are based largely on economic measures but have been increasingly challenged, with both human health and human rights being seen as significant measures of the progress of a society. The impact of geopolitical interventions on both human health and human rights is variable and contested, which can lead to inequalities and injustice.

Paper 3 (externally-assessed written examination; 20% of the A Level)

Paper 3 will provide you with a resource booklet containing information about a geographical issue within an unfamiliar place-based context. This issue will be rooted in topics studied for Papers 1 and 2. To prepare for Paper 3, you will develop your ability to draw synoptically on knowledge, understanding and skills from across the course.

Non-examined Assessment (internally-assessed written coursework; 20% of the A Level)

This non-examined assessment requires you to define a geographical question for independent investigation. Your investigation may be either physical or human (or both) and will be clearly linked to an area of the taught course. It will incorporate both primary fieldwork data and secondary data. Your written report will evidence independent analysis of this data.