Geography A-level: My Experience





I think its fair to say deciding what you want you want to do in the future is a stressful process, from my own experience I am painfully indecisive. For my A-levels my original choices were biology, sociology and law however, I found myself replacing two of the three for geography and philosophy. Although I haven't completed the course as of yet I can confirm I made the right choice.



I was debating if I should call this a review but, especially in the fieldwork section I end up reminiscing and recalling my personal experience. So instead of a review, strap yourself in as I take you on a journey through geography A-level from the perspective of a student.



The AQA course is set out like this:



Physical geography

1. Water and carbon cycles

2. Hot desert systems and landscapes

3. Coastal systems and landscapes

4. Glacial systems and landscapes

5. Hazards

6. Ecosystems under stress Human geography 7. Global systems and global governance

8. Changing places

9. Contemporary urban environments

10. Population and the environment

11. Resource security Geography fieldwork investigation 12. Fieldwork requirements

13. Investigation requirements





In my first year of geography A-level I gravitated towards the physical geography topics of coasts and hazards.





I really disliked changing places topics,if i'm being brutally honest it was the driest, and most 'wish washy' of all of the topics. I found it difficult to grasp the concept, I could not really make the link between that being - dare I say - actual geography. The topic was the smallest because there was nothing to say, in my opinion its common sense that has just been over complicated. I found a lack of structure in the work and I was overall disinterested.



Hazards was far more exciting however, the amount of content was huge. There was a lot to cover but the variation kept me interested. The topic felt overwhelming sometimes especially in the amount of case study material but I found it exciting that I could apply my knowledge to news stories of storms, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes etc. I have always had a fascination for natural hazards. Ever since I could remember I looked out the window for tornadoes (thinking one would magically appear) I even dreamed of volcanic eruptions and tsunamis but I think they were more along the lines of nightmares. Even so, I was captivated.

I was debating whether to write this in the review but it was interesting to learn about human behaviour around natural hazards. Though natural disasters are not funny, it was quite easy to make it that way. I quote from a documentary we watched 'its boxing day and there has been a flood' - in reference to the Indian ocean tsunami of 2004. Quite clearly, it was more than that but the sheer human stupidity made it laughable.



Coasts, a topic I hold dear to my heart. I will never look at a beach the same again. Every family holiday we go to some sort of coastal location. I always have a sense of excitement now as I point out the beach profile and what it means, the type of erosion of the cliffs and I have great pleasure in discovering the sea defences put in place. My parents get rather annoyed and could not care less but that just encourages me more to hype it up. Coasts is by far the most interesting topic as I could apply the information I learned so easily to everyday life. Though me and coasts haven't always got on, when I was about 6 we were at Charmouth me and my family went camping. They thought it was a great idea to walk along the beach/coastline to get from the campsite to the village. It was quite the disaster. The cliffs on one side the tide coming in on the other we got half way and had to turn around. The coast guards were almost called, I was crying and not to sound too dramatic but we almost all downed. Oh I do love a trip down trauma lane. I am happy to say now I don't have as much as a fear as I used to, but I do still find beaches suspicious.



By far the most interesting part of coasts were coastal landscapes including: sand dunes, salt marshes, fjords, dalmatian coastlines, raised beaches as well as eustatic and isostatic sea level change.



On the whole, compared to hazards thankfully, i'm more likely to go to a beach than witness a tropical storm or volcanic eruption which did make me like the topic more.





In my second year of geography A-level I much preferred the human geography, well Global systems and global governance. I cannot express how interesting and exciting I find global governance. Up until I was taught this topic I read the news with no real understanding however, I am constantly bombarded with the effects of globalization as I read about global governing bodies who are always in the news. Even now, as I write this the world health organisation is constantly in the news due to Covid-19. It interests me how complex and difficult it is to get counties to simply just communicate over times of crisis.



Contemporary urban environments like Hazards feels like a very big topic, probably because it is. I found this topic rather overwhelming but I found gems of subtopics in between. Urban climates and urban drainage were the ones I took most interest in. Again they were easily applicable to everyday life.I mean, who knew how exciting it would be comparing the weather in rural and urban areas using the met office app? Urbanisation, sub-urbanisation, decentralisation etc were all very straightforward, I particularly enjoyed the examination of models or urban growth. I found it interesting how there are so many but can only be applied to the context they were made up in.



Now to the physical geography first off, I have to get this off my chest. The carbon cycle, great. The hydrologic cycle though in no doubt important it was painfully boring. I have no reason why, just the movement of water is not my thing. The carbon cycle I have particular interest in as I am passionate about stopping human induced climate change. I specify human induced as it is natural for the earths climate regulate itself, warming and cooling over the years. However, by humans interfering with this by burning fossil fuels an imbalance of carbon is occurring where the atmosphere is being overwhelmed with carbon that should remain in the lithosphere as part of the slow carbon cycle - I digress. Our understanding of the carbon cycle is vital to us reducing the effects of climate change whilst we still can. I have taken part in a youth climate assembly with Ellie Chowns and I have added the report we wrote up somewhere on my blog.



If you are considering geography A-level, as you should I recommend extra reading. I love reading, only if it's not fiction I literally would rather watch paint dry. Its boring and serves no purpose. To make the lessons easier I read and printed off countless articles and reports as well as reading so many books. Its satisfying the read what you have learnt about and understand it with theory knowledge behind it.

My top recommendations are:

Books -

The Writing on the Wall: China and the West in the 21st Century

Governing the world, The history of an idea

Prisoners of geography

A flag worth dying for

How to read water

Rise to Globalism

Natural hazards in a globalised world

Edgelands

The collapse of globalism I also watched countless documentaries, I have to say its my favourite pass time finding geography based TV shows. I found a helpful twitter page @lenziegeo who posts 'geoggle box' every week which I most certainly looked forward to. Our coast (BBC 2)

How earth made us (BBC 2)

Worlds worst natural disasters (Nat Geo)

Australia on fire: Climate emergency (Channel 4)

Volcanoes (Smithsonian)

Earths tropical islands (BBC 2)

Earths great rivers (BBC 2)

Great American/Asian/British railroad journeys (BBC 2) If i'm honest i just love Portillo that much that I just had to include him.

Anything with Simon Reeve. There are countless shows and the list goes on but those are my top almost 10.



Netflix also has documentaries in abundance:



American factory I found this one on FDIs (foreign direct investment) very informative and I really enjoyed watching it.

Decoding the weather machine

Explained (pandemic, the stock market, the racial wealth gap)

Inside Bill's brain (mainly part 1 and 3) Touches upon waste management and sanitation in LICs

Into the inferno as you can guess from the name, this one is about volcanoes. Podcasts/ radio shows are also beneficial. My top advice especially for the globalisation topic is to keep on top of the news always be listening out for potential case study material. In the meantime, download the BBC sounds app, its brilliant. My top two stations are radio 4 and radio 4 extra.I have found some excellent shows on the app: Science in action has a wide range of shows those include the case of the Krakatoa volcano, climate change and south east Asia. Basically, current natural disasters analysed. Its one of the top shows I listen too.

I also listened to radio broadcasts on palm oil: costing the Earth and BBC inside science: whats the problem with palm oil and should we be supporting sustainably grown oil?

Global Wildlife (BBC Sounds, World service) A personal favourite of mine, a lost is said on Antarctica and whales Another top-tip I have is printing off sources i.e graphs diagrams and maps relevant to the topics and practice annotating them for practice for the 6 marker questions. It may feel like a chore - though I do it for fun as I do love a good graph - its very beneficial. I have made powerpoints 30 slides long with things I can annotate.

Geography A-level really broadens your understanding of the world, unlike most subjects it is completely relevant to current events as you literally learn about the planet you live on, which blows my mind. We are able the study the planet that is so much bigger and complex than you and me, so much so the size and processes are incomprehensible. The idea that not everyone actually understands or even has an idea of the processes going on around them is such as weird concept for me to understand. Geography A-level has certainly shown me that there is more than that reaches the eye.



I do have one major criticism of the A-level, the exam itself is a test of stamina rather than knowledge. This is a real shame, and real let down as it does take away most of the fun from the subject. AQA fails completely in the area of the course and I do hope in the future that this is reviewed.



