Gateway to opportunity
GCSE is the foundation for all the opportunities that studying Geography brings.
This includes the great wealth of University courses and the enormous range of opportunities for graduate and non-graduate employment. GCSE Geography really is the key to the door.
Bridging the gap
Increasingly geography is seen as an important link between pure and social sciences and is therefore a much sought after qualification for entry to, among others, Engineering, Medical and Environmental disciplines.
The GCSE is a logical progression from the SOED 5-14 program which the school follows through from the Junior School to the Thirds. As a result pupils are well prepared for the rigors of GCSE. The syllabus is designed to challenge and stretch pupils and to question their role in the world about them. It sets a firm foundation in the subject for progression towards Higher and A-Level Geography.
GCSE Fieldwork
Coursework is worth 25% of the final GCSE mark. As such the Geography Department places a significant emphasis on fieldwork in the Fourths. We begin our preparations for the coursework at the start of the summer term and take a full day out of school in May to complete the data gathering stage of the coursework. Pupils then have more time in class to analyse data and complete their write-up. This is then assessed by their teacher to give them a preliminary mark.
During September in the fifth year another block of time is set aside to act upon the advice offered by the teacher after the initial mark. Most pupils are able to improve their grade at this time.
Geography GCSE Syllabus
The syllabus is designed to challenge and stretch pupils and to question their own role in the world about them. The GCSE OCR 'A' syllabus is followed. It is structured as three papers;
Paper 1:
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Paper 2:
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Paper 3:
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Fieldwork
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Written Paper. Compulsory questions based on Ordnance Survey map extracts and geographical skills. Choices from - Population, Settlement, Quality of Life, Economic Activity, The.jpg)
Written Paper. Compulsory questions based on Ordnance Survey map extracts and geographical
Geographical Enquiry. A project based on Fieldwork. One individual project is required. Teacher-led, this piece of work must be entirely the pupil's own work and ought to be about 1500 words long. The enquiry work accounts for 25% of the final grade and is undertaken in the summer term of the Fourth year. 
We begin our preparations for the coursework at the start of the summer term and take a full day out of school in May to complete the data gathering stage of the coursework.This page is: Edinburgh Academy / curriculum / geography / gcse.htm
