Geography

Applications Open: 27/11/25

Applications Close: 31/01/26

Entry Requirements: 4 GCSE passes at grade 6 or above including grade 5s in Maths and either English Literature or Language.

How to Apply: Online application using Applicca - https://rochestergrammarschool.applicaa.com/applicaa.com/Year12

Paper 1: Physical Geography

• Water and carbon cycles – investigates the major stores of water and carbon at or near the Earth’s surface and the dynamic cyclical relationships associated with them. Consideration of the key role of carbon and water stores and cycles in supporting life on Earth with particular reference to climate.

• Coastal systems and Landscapes – focusing on coastal zones, which are dynamic environments in which landscapes develop by the interaction of winds, waves, current and terrestrial marine sediments. The operation and outcomes of fundamental geomorphological processes and their association with distinctive landscapes are readily observable.

• Hazards – within this section we consider the lithosphere and the atmosphere, which intermittently but regularly present natural hazards to human populations, often in dramatic and sometimes catastrophic ways.

Paper 2: Human Geography

• Global systems and global governance – the economic, political and social changes associated with technological and other driving forces which have been a key feature of the global economy and society in recent decades. We will consider globalisation and the impact of international trade and access to markets, global governance and the ‘global commons’.

• Changing places – considers people’s engagement with places, their experience of them and the qualities they ascribe to them through considering two contrasting places. This will investigate how and why places change over time.

• Population and the environment – explores the relationships between key aspects of physical geography and population numbers, population health and well-being, levels of economic development and the role and impact of the natural environment.

Fieldwork Investigation

• Students will undertake 4 days of fieldwork that will help the completion of the independent investigation. The investigation gives an opportunity for application of geographical knowledge in a practical context, enhancing understanding of real-world issues. It encourages skills such as critical thinking, data analysis and independent research that is valuable for higher education and future careers.

80% Examination

• Paper 1 Physical Geography

• Paper 2 Human Geography

20% Geography Fieldwork Investigation (NEA)

GCSE Grade 6 in Geography