AS Level Geography at Bullers Wood
Welcome to Geography at Bullers Wood. We believe you have made an excellent choice! What follows is some
important information for you to consider prior to embarking upon your Geography AS journey. We hope that
you find the subject and the specification as enjoyable to learn as we do to teach.
Please take some time to have a look at this information again prior to your arrival in September.
The Teachers
Geography Practicalities
Ms Kincaid (Head of GCSE
and KS3)
Ms Giacopazzi
Mr Weeks (Head of A Level)
Ms Wilson
Typically you will have 2 teachers: one teacher for
3 lessons, one teacher for 2 lessons per week. Most
lessons will be taught in William Morris block or
L3. Periods are 50 minutes long, some lessons will
be double periods. In addition to class work, you
are required to undertake 5 hours homework per
week minimum for Geography outside of lessons
(mix of guided and independent study).
And…
The VLE (e-version of lessons)
Twitter: @BullersWood_Geo
What is Geography AS Level about?
The Edexcel specification provides:
“A contemporary specification developed in consultation
with the Geographical Association, Royal Geographical
Society and leading HE institutions ….. To ensure that it
is fit for the 21st century”
“This four-unit GCE Geography specification offers units
that allow a balance between students’ own particular
physical, human and/or environmental interests and key
geographical topics that provide them with the
knowledge, understanding and skills for further study at
higher education or for employment.”
“Encourages independent study, giving students the
skills that employers and universities want”
What fieldwork is involved?
Fieldwork is an essential and enjoyable part of any A
Level Geography specification. Bullers Wood school
fieldwork trip to the South Coast takes place between
the 15th and 18th of October. Several locations linked to
Rebranding and Coasts are investigated: Dibden Bay,
Swanage, Studland, Weymouth, “Farmer Palmer’s”,
and Bournemouth. The Geography department will also
encourage students to investigate independently
through fieldwork and research (e.g. fieldwork in
Docklands, research into foreign coastal resort
development).
AS Level Geography at Bullers Wood
What Geographical Content is covered?
AS Level Geography at Bullers Wood
Summer Preparation Tasks
In order to make a successful start to AS Geography it is important that you complete some work over the
Summer as preparation. This work will be handed to your teacher in the first lesson back. It is compulsory. We also
request that you undertake some reading from the list opposite.
1. General
Find one interesting Geography related story in the news. Produce an A4 factsheet about it and include a picture.
Be prepared to speak about it in the first week of term.
2. Investigating Coasts
a. Find and sort your coasts notes from GCSE.
b. Using coast notes and extra research, write 2 sides on the following essay title:
“Describe how physical factors lead to a variety of coastal environments”
(Include the following keywords: Erosion, Deposition, Longshore Drift, Mass movement, Weathering.
Consider what makes these processes happen more and how they affect what the environment looks like
(i.e. what landforms they cause)
3. Investigating Rebranding
Rebranding = Developing a place to reposition its image and change people’s idea of it, helping to ‘sell’ the place
to a target audience.
In your exam you will need to know some examples of rebranding. A really good example is the London
Docklands. Before 1950 the Docklands used to be one of the world’s busiest ports but, the increase in technology,
containerisation and ships increasing in size caused the docklands to decline. Perhaps you might want to go on a
visit to the London Docklands Museum to help you answer the following questions?
You should write the answers to the following questions up as a report.
a. Where is the London Docklands? Find 2 different maps and describe where it can be found.
b. Find at least 2 pictures of the London Docklands before 1950. PLUS 2 pictures of what it is like today
c. Annotate all the pictures to show what the area was like / used for.
d. Explain in detail why the London Docklands went into decline.
e. What was the impact of the docks closing on the local people?
f. Why did they need to rebrand the Docklands?
g. Who was the London Development Corporation? What did they do?
h. How did they rebrand the London Docklands? (I.e. how did they redevelop the area?)
i. Do you think it was successful? Why? Think about the sustainability, environment, society and economy.
AS Level Geography at Bullers Wood
AS Level Reading List (we also have a more comprehensive reading list)
Non Fiction Magazines / Newspapers:
WideWorld, Geography Review, National Geographic Magazine, The Economist, Independent, Guardian, Times.
Non Fiction Books:
Gaia (various books by Lovelock, J), The Sceptical Environmentalist (Lomborg), Geldof in Africa (Geldof, B), Blood
River: A Journey to Africa’s Broken Heart (Butcher, T), Chasing the Devil (Butcher, T), The Weather Makers
(Flannery, T), The Ukimwi Road (Murphy, D), The China Road (Gifford, R)
Fiction:
Kite Runner (Hosseini, K), Slumdog Millionaire (Swarup, V)
Films:
An Inconvenient Truth, Slumdog Millionaire, BBC Africa series, BBC Human Planet, BBC Frozen Planet, BBC
Planet Earth, BBC Blue Planet
Twitter Feeds:
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@guardianeco (Guardian Environment)
@NatGeo (National Geographic)
@RGS_IBG (Royal Geographical Society)
@Edexcel_Geog (Edexcel Geography)
@Geographical_Mag (Geographical Magazine from the RGS)
We wish you a happy summer holiday and look
forward to seeing you in September. Should you
have any questions about Geography at Bullers
Wood or about the holiday tasks, please do not
hesitate to email me (Mr Weeks) at:
mweeks@bullerswood.bromley.sch.uk