Geography (NICCEA)

AIM OF THE COURSE
This new specification (formally syllabus) brings geography and those who study it into the twenty first century!

Students are encouraged appreciated things such as sustainable development and global citizenship.

Often, students are required to make decisions based on facts presented to them in an exam and also make extensive use of ICT - in other words make use of skills that are so necessary in today’s world.

SYLLABUS CONTENT
The syllabus is divided into six themes, three from physical geography and three from human geography:

THEME A THE ATMOSPHERE AND HUMAN IMPACT
THEME B PHYSICAL PROCESSES AND CHALLENGES
THEME C ECOSYSTEMS AND SUSTAINABILITY
THEME D POPULATION AND RESOURCES
THEME E ECONOMIC CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT
THEME F SETTLEMENTS AND CHANGE

The teaching of these themes will be kept as topical as possible, with an emphasis on the ‘here and now’; events in the news (e.g. this years Volcanic eruption in Africa) and issues which can directly affect our lives (e.g. environmental pollution or membership of the EU).

THE EXAMINATION
The exam itself is divided into two tiers: foundation and higher.

Both tiers have two papers (each 1 hour 30 min long) and a project. Paper 1 and 2 each comprise 40% of the marks and the project makes up 20%. Entering for the higher tier will give a range of grades from A*A,B,C,D,E and U whereas entry to the foundation tier will give grades from C,D,E,F,G and U.

FIELD WORK AND PROJECT
The fieldwork will be conducted in the second term of Year 11 and this year we might, like last year, undertake a study of Belfast’s City Centre. This exercise is usually an enjoyable experience and broadens the pupils’ range of skills both academic and social.

A project is based on the completed fieldwork, the first draft of which should be submitted around Halloween of Year 12. The final revised version should be submitted at Christmas of Year 12.

Career Implications/Possibilities for Further and Higher Education
There are many careers open to geographers. Some will use geography directly like teaching, surveying, town and country planning and cartography. Other career opportunities will arise by virtue of the trained mind or skills geographers have acquired within the discipline, for example: architecture, personnel management, environmental health, engineering, landscape design, tourism. Geography involves many decision-making situations and processes which later become everyday requirements for people in administration and management.

Geography is also unique in that it spans the science/arts divide thus avoiding over specialisation in one or the other. This is pertinent considering that employers are increasingly interested in people with a broad general education.