The GCSE Geography course taught at St. Peter’s School is OCR’s Geography GCSE Specification A. The topics covered in the GCSE course are a mixture of human and physical geography, and build upon the work covered in Lower School. In total pupils cover four units of work over the two years, and each unit is divided into 2 or 3 sections.

They are:

UNIT 1 People and the Physical World

(a) Earthquakes and volcanoes
(b) Rivers and the water cycle
(c) Coasts

UNIT 2 People and Places to Live

(a) Population
(b) Settlement

UNIT 3 People and their Needs

(a) Quality of Life
(b) Economic Activities – farming, manufacturing industry, and tourism.
(c) Energy

UNIT 4 – People and the Environment

(a) Resource development and the local environments – quarrying, tropical rainforests, National Parks, and water pollution.

(b) The global environment – acid rain and global warming.

Coursework

Pupils must submit one piece of coursework which is between 2500 and 3000 words in length. It is worth 25% of the total examination marks.

The coursework takes the form of a geographical investigation which is supported by fieldwork. All pupils will have to undertake at least one day’s fieldwork in the local area.

Examination

The question papers consist of two tiers – Foundation and Higher. The Foundation Tier covers grades C to G, and the Higher Tier covers grades A* to D.

All pupils, whether being assessed at Foundation or Higher level, take two papers. The first paper is worth 50% of the total mark, and predominantly assesses knowledge and understanding. The first paper lasts 2 hours.

The second paper is worth 25% of the total mark, and tests geographical skills. The second paper lasts 1 hour.