Volume 29, Number 1, September 2015
Exam links
Using this issue for Edexcel AS
and A2 geography
The table below shows the structure of the Edexcel A-level geography course.
AS
Unit 1
6GE01
Global challenges (2
compulsory topics)
Unit 2
Going global
6GE02
Investigating geography
(1 physical and 1 human
option)
A2
Unit 3
World at risk
Either Extreme weather or Crowded coasts
Either Rebranding places or Unequal spaces
6GE03
Energy security
Contested planet
Water conflicts
(6 compulsory topics)
Biodiversity under threat
Superpower geographies
Bridging the development gap
The technological fix?
Unit 4
GE04
Tectonic activity and hazards
Researching geography
Cold environments
(one of 6 options)
Life on the margins
Pollution and human health at risk
The world of cultural diversity
Consuming the rural landscape
Philip Allan Publishers © 2015
www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview
This table shows the relevance of each of the articles and columns in this issue of GEOGRAPHY REVIEW
to the Edexcel specification
Article
Page
numbers
AS
EU migration to the UK:
changing patterns and
impacts
2–6
Unit 1 Going global
Question and answer
Rivers, flooding and
management
7–9
Unit 2 Extreme weather
Arctic climate change: what
are the impacts?
10–14
Unit 1 World at risk
Geographical skills Taking
geographical pictures
15–17
Unit 2 all options
Prospects Applying to
university?
17–19
All students
Centrepiece The
Quaternary ice age
20–21
Unit 1 World at risk
Unit 4 Cold environments
Adventure tourism in the
Lake District: a rebranding
case study
22–25
Unit 2 Rebranding places
(rural)
Unit 4 Consuming the rural
landscape
Development update
Shrinking the education
gender gap
26–28
Building on the basics UK
migration trends
29–31
Why is Nepal a poor
country? A development
case study
32–35
Unit 3 Bridging the
development gap
Environment today
Protected areas
36–37
Unit 3 Biodiversity under
threat; Unit 4 Cold
environments and Rural
landscapes
Engineering the Earth’s
climate. Can we? Should
we?
38–41
Unit 1 World at risk
The big picture
Mediterranean migrants
42
Unit 1 Going global
Philip Allan Publishers © 2015
A2
Unit 4 Cold environments
Unit 3 Bridging the
development gap
Unit 1 Going global
Unit 3 The technological
fix?
www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview
EU migration to the UK: changing patterns and
impacts

This article covers some of the core content for AS Unit 1, Going global.
Migration is an important Unit 1 topic and the subject of EU migration is a compulsory case study. This
topic can cause confusion. The legal status of migrants is often incorrectly stated by candidates and
numbers of migrants quoted sometimes feel as though they have been picked out of thin air! This
article covers the main trends that candidates need to be aware of, as well as much of the key
terminology. Candidates occasionally state that EU migration ‘stopped’ following the financial crisis in
2008, whereas Figures 2 and 3 show that this was not the case.
Question and answer Rivers, flooding and
management

This article has some relevance to AS Unit 2, the Extreme weather option.
Rivers are not a major part of the Extreme weather option but some understanding of flood risk and
impacts is required. This question could be used as a class or homework exercise to reinforce these
topics. Centres need to be aware that the exam format of this AQA exam question is different from the
10-and 15-mark question format of AS Unit 2.
Arctic climate change: what are the impacts?

The Arctic is a compulsory case study in AS Unit 1 World at risk, so this article is very useful.

It is also useful for A2 Unit 4, the Cold environments option, especially in terms of the
opportunities and threats of climate warming.
The focus of the Arctic compulsory case study is on ecological and environmental impacts of climate
change, rather than economic and social impacts (the focus of the Africa compulsory case study). This
article outlines the physical changes experienced by a warming Arctic. The focus on a named place
i.e. Disko Bay is useful as a way of moving candidates away from discussing the Arctic only in very
general terms. This place-specific focus is also necessary in the context of the Unit 4 research report.
Geographical skills Taking geographical pictures

This Geographical skills is useful preparation for fieldwork for all Unit 2 options at AS.
Photographs are almost always mentioned in the context of the Unit 2 15-mark fieldwork and research
exam questions. In addition they are often the basis of one of the figures in the exam. Therefore it is
sensible that students have a little more understanding of both how to take photographs and what
uses they can be put to. Seeing the camera as an item of fieldwork equipment is a good starting point.
Prospects Applying to university?
This article is useful for any student going through the process of applying to university, or perhaps
just thinking about it as an option. The volume of information available these days is daunting, so why
not start with something brief and readable?
Philip Allan Publishers © 2015
www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview
Centrepiece The Quaternary ice age

This article is useful for AS Unit World at risk

It also provides context for A2 Unit 4 the Cold environments option.
Candidates at AS are not directly tested on their knowledge and understanding of the broader
Quaternary period. However, some understanding of this geological period is useful in a number of
ways:

It is important for students to understand the timescale and frequency of glacial and
interglacial periods and how these are caused by orbital changes.

A grasp of the magnitude of warm/cold cycles is important in order to contextualise recent
warming and shorter-term climate changes caused by variations in solar output or eruptions.

It is useful to consider the scale of environmental changes (Figure 1) between interglacial and
glacial periods, especially in terms of possible changes should global temperatures warm
significantly in the future.
Adventure tourism in the Lake District: a rebranding
case study

This article can be used as a case study of rural rebranding for the Rebranding places option
of Unit 2.

It is also relevant to the Unit 4 option Consuming the rural landscape.
Sensitive environments, such as UK National Parks, always create tensions between economic
development and conservation. Indeed the aims of UK National Parks can seem contradictory.
According to the National Parks website:
The Environment Act 1995 revised the original legislation and set out two statutory purposes
for National Parks in England and Wales.
1
Conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage
2
Promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of
National Parks by the Public
When National Parks carry out these purposes they also have the duty to:

Seek to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities within the
National Parks
http://www.nationalparks.gov.uk/learningabout/whatisanationalpark/aimsandpurposesofnationalparks
In the Lake District the decline of traditional employment in farming and mineral extraction has
generated a need for alternative income, and using the landscape as an adventure location is an
obvious choice. But this type of rebranding brings economic development with both costs and benefits.
Balancing the needs of conservation with economic wellbeing is challenging.
Philip Allan Publishers © 2015
www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview
Development update Shrinking the education gender
gap

This article is relevant for A2 Unit 3, Bridging the development gap
The focus here is partly on the Millennium Development Goals, a key part of Unit 3. The issue of
gender differences, the reasons behind them and their impacts on development are also covered in
the specification. This Development Update provides a useful starting point for considerating the
importance of education for females, and its impact on development.
Building on the basics UK migration trends:
analysing the data

This Building on the Basics, relevant for AS Unit 1 Going global, is perhaps best used as a
‘partner’ to the broader article on EU migration on pages 2–5.
The concept of migration does cause a few examination headaches. Considering the topic in the
context of graphical data is therefore useful. The key terminology set out in the article is crucial to
successful exam technique, as is understanding that net migration depends on both immigration and
emigration numbers. Both of these figures are prone to large annual variations — the result of
numerous factors affecting the movement of people.
Why is Nepal a poor country? A development case
study

This article is most relevant to A2 Unit 3 Bridging the development gap.

It could also be used for AS Unit 1 when considering economic groupings.
This case study is useful in its consideration of physical geography, political factors and economic
structure as explanations of continuing poverty in Nepal. The factors that influence Nepal also apply to
other less developed countries.
Environment Today Protected areas

This piece is most directly relevant to A2 Unit 3 Biodiversity under threat.

It also has contextual relevance to the Unit 4 Cold environments and Rural landscapes
options, and even the rural elements of the Unit 2 human geography options.
The article considers a range of types and styles of protected area, and makes the point that protected
areas have a long history. Determining the value of protected areas is very difficult in economic terms,
despite them having well understood cultural, ecological and environmental value. A consideration of
Question 1 on page 37 is very useful for A2 students as ecosystem services are an important A2
concept.
Philip Allan Publishers © 2015
www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview
Engineering the Earth’s climate: Can we? Should
we?
This article can be used in two contexts:
1
For AS Unit 1 World at risk it can be used to consider the (often misunderstood) terms of
mitigation and adaptation as responses to climate change. Geoengineering could fall into both
camps by removing carbon dioxide from emissions before they are released, or by directly altering
climate – which might be seen as an extreme form of adaptation.
2
Secondly, geoengineering is in the specification for A2 Unit 3 The technological fix, and this
article provides some case-study detail on several possible methods, as well as considering their
possible costs and benefits.
This resource is part of GEOGRAPHY REVIEW, a magazine written for A-level students by subject experts.
To subscribe to the full magazine go to: http://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview
Philip Allan Publishers © 2015
www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview