Geography

EXAM BOARD: CAMBRIDGE IGCSE

HEAD OF GEOGRAPHY: Mrs Stewart

STAFF: Mrs N Clarke, Mrs Lillie, Mrs Mainwaring, Mr R Murphy

The IGCSE specification in Geography is designed to enable learners to: make decisions that balance care of the environment with economic development; present balanced arguments; develop advanced map and data analysis skills; learn how to use GIS and other software tools; improve their analysis / presentation / evaluation skills; understand other cultures throughout the world; know how to effectively manage climate change locally and globally.

Paper 1:

Provides a solid foundation in physical and human geography, to enable students to fully appreciate the constantly changing world in which we live. The paper has three sections called ‘themes.’ Each theme contains sub-topics offering opportunities to explore different approaches to housing, traffic and workplace provision:

THEME 1:

Population and Settlement
Population distribution
Migration and population dynamics
Urban settlements
Urbanisation
Settlement and services

Sub-topics include:

Overpopulation
City land use zoning
Urban sprawl

THEME 2:

The Natural Environment
Earthquakes
Volcanoes
Rivers
Coasts
Weather
Climate and natural vegetation

Sub-topics include:

Supervolcanoes
Tsunamis
Interaction between people and the environment

THEME 3:

Economic Development
Development
Food production
Industry
Tourism
Energy
Environmental risk

Sub-topics include:

Global provision of energy resources
Location of food resources and the subsequent need for sustainable development

Paper 2:

This paper tests a student’s ability to interpret and analyse geographical information, make decisions and then apply graphical and other techniques as appropriate.

Skills are tested with topographical maps, OS maps, diagrams, graphs, tables of data, written material, photographs and pictorial material.

Local Fieldwork Investigation

Students will complete a series of fieldwork tasks both on and off site in a variety of settings. This provides students with skills such as data collection, team work, problem solving and data manipulation. This fieldwork will be completed over the two year course, with off site visits likely to take place during the Summer term of Year 10.

Using these skills, students will complete a Paper 4: Alternative to Coursework. This paper is a practical paper with some knowledge elements. It will be completed at the end of Year 11.