Geography

3.1 Cartographic skills

• Coordinates, scale and distance
• Extracting and analysing map information
• Geo-spatial data in a GIS framework
• Gradient, contour and spot height on OS and isoline maps
• Interpreting cross-sections and transects
• Map types studied (atlas, OS, base, choropleth, isoline, flow line, desire-line, sphere of influence, thematic, route, sketch)
• Selecting, adapting and constructing maps

3.2 Graphical skills

• Extracting and analysing graphical information
• Graphs and charts studied (bar, histograms, line, scatter, dispersion, pie, climate, proportional symbols, pictograms, cross-sections, population pyramids, radial, rose)
• Presenting and communicating data through graphs
• Selecting, adapting and constructing graphs and charts

3.3 Numerical and statistical skills

• Bivariate data and trend lines
• Designing fieldwork data collection sheets
• Drawing and justifying numerical and statistical conclusions
• Identifying weaknesses in statistical presentations
• Interpreting tables of data
• Measures of central tendency, spread and cumulative frequency
• Number, area and scale
• Percentages and percentiles
• Predictions: interpolation and extrapolation
• Proportion, ratio, magnitude and frequency

3.4 Other geographical skills

• Analysing written articles, including bias
• Deconstructing visual images (photos, cartoons, pictures, diagrams)
• Suggesting improvements to maps, graphs, statistical techniques and visual sources

Fieldwork skills

• Analysing and explaining fieldwork data using case studies and theories
• Critical reflection on fieldwork
• Drawing evidenced fieldwork conclusions
• Fieldwork must be in physical and human contexts in contrasting locations
• Fieldwork question framing and enquiry processes
• Fieldwork techniques: observation and measurement
• Processing and presenting fieldwork data (maps, graphs, diagrams)

1.1 Landscapes of the UK

• Case study: one UK coastal landscape
• Case study: one UK river basin
• Characteristics of UK upland, lowland and glaciated landscapes
• Deposition as a geomorphic process
• Distribution of UK upland, lowland and glaciated landscapes
• Erosion processes (abrasion, hydraulic action, attrition, solution)
• Formation of beaches and spits
• Formation of caves, arches and stacks
• Formation of floodplains and levees
• Formation of headlands and bays
• Formation of meanders and ox-bow lakes
• Formation of V-shaped valleys
• Formation of waterfalls and gorges
• Mass movement: sliding and slumping
• Mechanical, chemical and biological weathering
• Transport processes (traction, saltation, suspension, solution)

1.2 People of the UK

• 21st-century immigration into the UK
• Case study UK city: contemporary urban challenges (housing, transport, waste)
• Case study UK city: migration and impact on growth and character
• Case study UK city: sustainable strategies for one urban challenge
• Case study UK city: ways of life (culture, ethnicity, housing, leisure, consumption)
• Case study: consequences of economic growth/decline for one UK place or region
• Case study: one major UK city - regional, national and global influences
• Causes of UK urban trends (suburbanisation, counter-urbanisation, re-urbanisation)
• Causes of uneven development within the UK
• Consequences of UK urban trends
• UK ageing population: causes, effects and responses
• UK geographical diversity and inequality
• UK population structure changes 1900-present
• UK trade: principal exports and imports

1.3 UK Environmental Challenges

• Air masses and UK extreme weather conditions
• Air masses, North Atlantic Drift and continentality
• Case study: one UK flood event - causes
• Case study: one UK flood event - effects
• Case study: one UK flood event - management at variety of scales
• Contribution of renewable and non-renewable to UK energy supply
• Development of renewable energy in the UK
• Economic, political and environmental factors affecting UK energy future
• Future role of non-renewable energy in UK supply
• Mechanisation of farming and commercial fishing for food
• Renewable and non-renewable energy sources
• Reservoirs and water transfer schemes
• Strategies for sustainable energy management at local and UK scales
• UK energy supply and demand patterns 1950-present
• Wind farms and fracking for energy

2.1 Ecosystems of the Planet

• Abiotic and biotic components of ecosystems
• Case study: one coral reef
• Case study: one tropical rainforest
• Climate, plants and animals of major biomes
• Global distribution of major biomes
• Locations of the world's major tropical rainforests
• Locations of the world's warm-water coral reefs
• Nutrient and water cycles in tropical rainforests
• Nutrient cycling within coral reefs

2.2 People of the Planet

• Aid: types and role in promoting/hindering development
• Case study LIDC/EDC city: contemporary urban challenges (housing, transport, waste)
• Case study LIDC/EDC city: migration and city growth/character
• Case study LIDC/EDC city: sustainable strategies for one challenge
• Case study LIDC/EDC city: ways of life (culture, ethnicity, housing, leisure, consumption)
• Case study LIDC/EDC: communications technology
• Case study LIDC/EDC: education and healthcare
• Case study LIDC/EDC: imports, exports and trade
• Case study LIDC/EDC: international investment
• Case study LIDC/EDC: location and environmental context
• Case study LIDC/EDC: one aid project
• Case study LIDC/EDC: political development and international relationships
• Case study LIDC/EDC: population and employment structure changes
• Case study: one major LIDC/EDC city - regional, national and global influences
• Causes of rapid urbanisation in LIDCs (push/pull, natural growth)
• Causes of uneven development: colonialism, trade, exploitation of natural resources
• Consequences of rapid urbanisation in LIDCs
• Definitions of city, megacity and world city
• Definitions of development (social, economic, environmental, sustainable)
• Development indicators (GNI per capita, HDI, Internet Users)
• Distribution of megacities and change over time
• How indicators illustrate consequences of uneven development
• Patterns of ACs, EDCs and LIDCs
• Rostow's model applied to LIDC/EDC case study
• Urban growth rates with contrasting development levels

2.3 Environmental threats to our Planet

• Case study: drought event - adaptation by people
• Case study: drought event - effects on people and environment
• Case study: drought event - El Nino/La Nina conditions
• Causes of tropical storms and drought hazards
• Climate change since the start of the Quaternary
• Consequences of climate change across the planet
• Distribution and frequency of tropical storms and drought
• Distribution of main climatic regions of the world
• Evidence for climate change (temperature data, ice cores, tree rings, paintings, diaries)
• Global atmospheric circulation between poles and equator
• Global circulation and extreme weather (wind, temperature, precipitation)
• Human activity and the enhanced greenhouse effect
• Natural causes of climate change (solar variation, orbital change, volcanic activity)
• Periods of warming and cooling since 1000AD (Medieval Warm Period, Little Ice Age, modern warming)