Geography (AS/A Level 3)

Applications Open – 3PM Thursday 6 November 2025

Applications Close – August 2026

Entry Requirements – For Level 3 courses, students must have 5 or more Grade 4s at GCSE. No minimum entry for Level1/2 courses

How to Apply – Please apply via KentChoices

Studying geography at AS and A2 opens up a world of opportunity for students. At AS and A2 aspects of both Human and Physical Geography are studied. We have forged links with ‘Geography In Action’ and go annually to their conference in London where students listen to inspirational and topical lectures.

Geography combines well with almost all subjects. Taken with sciences, geography supports applications for almost any science-based university course; taken with humanities, geography supports an equally wide range of university courses such as business, law, media, politics and philosophy. Many students choose to use their qualification to go straight into employment, rather than go on to higher education. Because AS and Advanced GCE Geography develops the transferable and key skills that employers are looking for, they can lead to a very wide range of employment opportunities. The qualification can also lead to further training in such areas as the law, accountancy and journalism.

Students build on knowledge gained at GCSE. The course consists of both Human and Physical Geography and uses research skills to develop learning. Research is completed both in the classroom and out on fieldwork. Here, the students have the opportunity to go on a four day residential fieldwork trip. In recent years the Geography Department has visited Malham Tarn Field Centre in North Yorkshire and Skerne Lodge Field Centre in North Devon. This allows students to complete their coursework (NEA) which is worth 20% of the final A level grade.

The new A-Level syllabus started in September 2016. We follow the AQA exam board’s specification. All units mentioned below are assessed at the end of Year 13 but at Astor School, students are also entered into the AS exam at the end of Year 12, when a selection of both Human and Physical topics are examined.

Physical Geography

Water and Carbon Cycles.

Hot Deserts systems and landscapes OR Coastal Systems and landscapes OR Glacial Systems and landscapes.

Hazards or Ecosystems Under Stress

Human Geography

Global systems and global governance.

Changing places.

Contemporary urban environments OR Population and the environment OR Resource security.

5 GCSEs at 4 or above, including Geography

Town or transport planning, surveying, conservation, sustainability, waste and water management, environmental planning, tourism, weather forecasting, charity work, international relations army, police, government, research organisations, environmental law, business, journalism.