Geography A-Level at Edinburgh Academy
Course Availability
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Entry RequirementsGrade A-C (preferably A or B) at Scottish Higher, or equivalent. All students will have completed the Scottish Higher in the 6th year. This gives them the security of a Higher exam grade when applying for university, and it also gives them excellent examination preparation for theirfull A-Level. In those areas where there is an overlap between the Higher and the A-Level, candidates will be taught to A-Level standard in the 6th year. |
Geography A-Level Syllabus
| Pupils currently follow the EDEXCEL specification which dovetails well with the Higher course. The particular benefi t of this course is that it recognises the essential unity of Geography, while also allowing students to study discrete areas of the subject. It provides an opportunity to establish an in-depth understanding of physical, human and environmental Geography before the more complex inter-relationships are explored in a synoptic context. | |||
AS Module 1: Physical Environments |
AS Module 2: Human Environments |
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Earth Systems, Fluvial Environments and Coastal Environments. Volcanic systems for example are included in this section, as witnessed by the school's iceland expedition. "We visited Hekla and walked to the freshest, five-year-old lava through fields of ash, uncomfortably aware that the volcano only gives a one-hour warning before erupting." |
Population Characteristics, Settlement Patterns and Population Movements. The landscape is more than just attractive scenery or a record of the past; it also provides a place for us to live, work and play, through farming, forestry, industry, commerce, recreational areas and so on, processes that all shape, and will continue to shape, the landscape. |
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AS Module 3: Applied Geographical Skills. |
A2 module 4: Physical Systems, processes and patterns |
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Which requires students to participate in three days of fieldwork related to the course. This part of the syllabus is covered through a short conversion course from Higher to A-Level at Blair House, the Academy’s outdoor centre in Glen Clova. The course takes place in the summer term of the 6th year. Candidates are introduced to the rigours of A-Level, and are given the opportunity to gather data for the fieldwork component of the course. |
Atmospheric Systems and Glacial Systems. Glaciers flow as a result of gravity deforming ice and pulling it downhill. The deformation makes glacial flow resemble rivers of Ice. However there are important differences between glacial flow and stream flow. |
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A2 module 5: Human Systems, processes and patterns |
A2 module 6: Synoptic Paper |
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Rural-Urban Interrelationships and Development processes. For examaple with diminishing energy supplies, aging infrastructure, and increasing energy costs, a worldwide search for more efficient and clean energy resources and power systems is under way. But at what cost? |
People and their Environments For example the Grangemouth refinery and petrochemical complex on the estuary of the Forth has recently been presenting interesting problems for the construction of a football stadium for nearby Falkirk FC. |
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