September 2008 will see Year 12 pupils be the first pupils to study the ‘new’ AS/A2 levels. As a school we have changed exam boards and Year 12 pupils will follow the AQA Geography AS/A2 specification. Click here to download the specification aqa-geography-specification
Initially students will follow the AS course. An overview of the AS course can be viewed on the AQA website
A simple overview is that all students will study 4 topics during Year 12. Initially each teacher will deliver 1 topic. Therefore, Mr Barlow will deliver the Global Population Change, Mr Vaughan will deliver Rivers, Floods and Managementand Mr Donnan will deliver Health Issues. This will then leave 1 remaining topic. This topic will be delivered by all 3 Geography teachers at the same time, when the first 3 topics have been completed. This final topic will be Coastal Environments.
The exam board (AQA) have produced a student guide and this can be downloaded here aqa-student-guide
There are two core textbooks that support the course at AS level. We will be making reference to both of these textbooks over the AS course. Each book costs approximately £20 pounds. I would not reccommed purchasing both textbooks, but purchasing one of the books maybe of use. The textbooks can be viewed on the Philip Allan website or the Nelson Thornes website. If any student does wish to purchase a textbook they can do so directly from the above sites, other websites such as Amazon or through the Geography department who will order the books for pupils. Please speak to Mr Barlow if you wish to order a textbook.
In addition to the core textbook, we would also like to emphasise the point of students having up-to-date resources and case studies. The best source of these are often newspapers such as the Guardian, the Independent, the Telegraph or the Times. Newspapers along with websites allow pupils to draw relevant examples that will ultimately raise attainment.
