Rugby Scholarship Examination in
February 2016 – Revision Guidance
The Rugby Academic Scholarship examinations take place on Tuesday 23rd
and Wednesday 24th of February 2016.
The Rugby School Geography Scholarship paper lasts 1 hour and is divided
into two sections:-
Section A – you are required to answer all the questions in this section.
These are always compulsory. Usually there are 10 marks allocated for this
question. You should aim to spend 20 minutes on this section. It can vary! In
May 2015, the question was split into two –parts with 20 marks allocated; so
more time needed spending on it. So, it is very important that you read the
question and work out how long you need to spend on it.
Section B – you have a choice of doing one question from four.
Usually, you would allocate at least 30 minutes to this question (40 minutes
if the first question is only 10 marks).
Structure of the Rugby School Scholarship
Examination paper
Section A – This section can be about any topic! In the most recent May 2015
paper, the first question centred on the Millenium Goals and its level of
success in the Developing world, including Bangladesh. The first part of the
question was made up of a whole page of lines for the candidate to write
their response. The candidate was asked to scrutinise an insert full of graphs
and tables showing progress in development since 1990.The second part of
question 1 centred on floating gardens and how useful these may be in
helping Bangladesh achieve its own millennium goals. In 2013 the questions
revolved around possible fieldwork you would conduct along a busy high
street. There were further questions on problems obtaining primary data
and ways a questionnaire could be improved. In 2012 the questions in
section A centred on the Olympic Park (pre-Olympics) and then on possible
fieldwork that could be conducted to ascertain the impact of the Olympics
on the east of London (post-Olympics). The questions were totally different
in the 2011 paper. These questions focused on the Haiti Earthquake and the
long term effects of a similar disaster on an LEDC.
So, you need to be prepared for a variety of questions and topics in this
section!
Section B – The questions in this section are always essay questions. These
tend to include a statement which you are then invited to discuss or
agree/disagree with. There is an emphasis on using examples from your
own studies. The questions can be quite varied and challenging. The
following is a breakdown of the topics which have appeared in this section
over the last four years:-
2015
Coastal erosion and the hazards of living near the sea.
The role of geography in preparing people for ‘Life.’
The future of transport, energy production and recycling.
The comparative impacts of earthquakes in MEDECs and LEDCs.
2013
Earthquakes
Economic Geography – the impact of Multinational companies
Impacts of flooding throughout the world
Urban problems
2012
The merits of managing natural hazards (like floods, earthquakes,
volcanoes, hurricanes etc.)
The differences in the impacts of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
Urban problems in MEDCs and LEDCs
The implications of a growing global population
2011
The candidates own Individual Investigation (coursework) – outlining of
aims and methods and evaluating how successful the study was in achieving
the original aims.
The environmental and human impacts associated with future climate
change.
The positive and negative impacts of the 2012 Olympic Games on the city of
London.
Urbanisation of floodplains.
As you can see, there are obviously common themes running throughout
but this section can spring surprises.
The topic of earthquakes and volcanoes appears in 2015, 2013 and 2012 but
not in 2011. However, in 2011, the Section A question focuses on
earthquakes. So, it is safe to say that earthquakes and volcanoes is a must
revise for the examination.
Flooding as a natural hazard is also a common theme throughout but be
careful as the 2011 question highlights how precise information might be
asked for. Rivers and Flooding are also must revise topics for the Rugby
Scholarship examination.
Urbanisation and urban problems are also common topics on which section
B questions can be based. This is another must revise (we have just
completed work on this topic in class – see your exercise book and your
Revision Guide).
Climate change has been a focus for one question (2011).
The 2012 Olympics has figured once in section A (2012) and once in section B
(2011).
The Individual Investigation and fieldwork in general has figured strongly in
all three examinations:In 2013 and 2012, the whole of Section A was based on fieldwork knowledge
and skills.
In 2015, an essay question on ‘the role of geography in life’ would have
benefit from a candidate’s knowledge of fieldwork.
In 2011, one of four essay choices in section B was based on fieldwork.
Therefore, an understanding of fieldwork is also a must for
this scholarship examination (make sure you go over the
reading material and activities you completed over the
Christmas period!)
 Your main sources for revision are: Exercise Books – you need to refer to all your geography exercise
books from the beginning of Year 6.
 Class Folder - this is where you will find extra worksheets, information
sheets and completed past papers/examination questions.
 CGB KS3 Geography Revision Guide
 Case Studies - You have A4 Revision sheets on Mount St Helens, the
2004 Asian Tsunami, the Global Fashion Industry (Nike), The Toyota
Car Plant in Derby, Flooding in Bangladesh, Hurricane Katrina and The
Yorkshire Dales. Break the information down even further by writing
notes on card.
 Urbanisation and urban problems – see pages 81-87 in the CGB KS3
Revision Guide and your Exercise Book.
 Essentials! revision sheets. Make sure you have the following:Coasts – the essentials!
Earthquakes and Volcanoes – the essentials!
Economic Activity – the essentials!
Rivers – the essentials!
Weather and Climate – the essentials! (rarely appeared in the past but
just in case)
Below is a breakdown of the topics you need to revise.
 Earthquakes and Volcanoes
 The global distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes (Exercise
Book).
 Reasons for Plate movement – convection currents (RG page 16 and
Exercise Book).
 What are the four major plate boundaries? How are these boundaries
created and what hazards result? (RG page 16 and Exercise Book).
 How volcanoes form and the impacts of volcanic eruptions (RG pages
19 - 23 and Exercise Book).
 How earthquakes occur and the effects of earthquakes on people and
the environment (RG page 18 and pages 20-23 plus Exercise Book).
 An example both of an earthquake and a volcano to show the nature,
causes, environmental and human effects, and human responses one example from an MEDC (A4 case study sheet on Mount St Helens
in the USA)and one from an LEDC (A4 case study sheet on the Asian
Tsunami of 2004).
 Knowledge of the causes, impacts of and responses to other
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions throughout the world. For
example, the San Francisco earthquake of 1989; Soufrière Hills in
Montserrat volcanic eruption of 2005 (Old RG pages 93-95); the Nepal
Earthquake of 2015 (Info. Sheets given in Week 8 of Autumn Term
2015).
 Rivers
 Processes of Weathering - Physical (Freeze/Frost shattering, onionskin), Chemical and Biological (RG pages 29 and 30 and Exercise
Book).
 Processes of erosion – Hydraulic Action, Abrasion, Corrosion and
Attrition (RG page 53 and Exercise Book).
 Changes in the shape and size of a river from Upper Course to lower
Course (RG pages 51-55 and Exercise Book).
 Processes of Transportation – Solution, Suspension, Traction,
Saltation (Exercise Book).
 River landforms and processes – Waterfall and Meander (RG pages
52-55 and Exercise Book).
 The causes and effects of and responses to a flood – Bangladesh
(Exercise Book and A4 case study sheet on the Bangladesh Flood of
1998) and Somerset Floods 2014 (Exercise Book - done in Week 8 of
the 2015 Autumn Term).
 Coasts
 Weathering – Biological, Chemical, Freeze thaw/frost shattering and
onion-skin weathering (RG pages 29-30 and Exercise Book).
 Processes of erosion – Hydraulic Action, Abrasion, Corrosion and
Attrition (RG page 59 and Exercise Book).
 Processes of Transportation – Solution, Suspension, traction and
Saltation (Exercise Book – same as in Rivers!).
 Longshore Drift – movement of beach material along the coastline
(RG page 59 and Exercise Book).
 Coastal Landforms and processes – How does a Spit form? You need
to be able to draw and annotate (label with some explanation) a
diagram of a Spit (RG page 61 and Exercise Book). How does a Stack
form? Again, you have to be able to draw and annotate a diagram (RG
page 60 and Exercise Book).
 Coastal Management – Hard and Soft engineering approaches to
protecting the coastline from erosion (RG pages 62-64).
Settlement, Urbanisation and Urban Problems
 Site, Function and Situation of a settlement. Relief of land which a
settlement is built on. Each settlement has attractive site features e.g.
flat land to build and expand, near to a river for easy access to
drinking water and transport for early settlers etc. (Old RG page 77 80 and Exercise Book).
 Settlement patterns – nucleated, linear and dispersed (Old RG page
78 and Exercise Book).
 Settlement Functions and changing functions of an urban area (Old
RG page 80 and Exercise Book).
 Settlement Hierarchy – the ordering of settlements based on size of
population and the amount of low, middle and high order services
available. The Hierarchy ranges from thousands of smaller settlements
(Hamlets with few services) to just a few cities and conurbations (Old
RG pages 78-79 and Exercise Book).
 Urbanisation - means an increase in the proportion of people living in
urban areas compared to rural areas. An urban area is a built-up area
such as a town or city. A rural area is an area of countryside (RG page
81, Revision Notes below and Exercise Book).
PS I will give you photocopies of the pages from the older edition of your
Revision Guide to cover settlement (pages indicated as Old RG above).
Notes on Urbanisation
 As a country industrialises, the number of people living in urban areas
tends to increase. The UK and many other MEDCs urbanised during the
18th and 19th centuries. People migrated from rural areas (due to the
mechanisation in farming) to urban areas where there was employment
in the new factories. The area of cities known as the inner city developed
during this time as rows of terraced housing were built for workers.
Today the UK is a mostly urban society, with 90 per cent of the
population living in towns or cities.
On a global scale, urbanisation is taking place rapidly, particularly in
LEDCs.
Although the UK is an urban society, more and more people are choosing
to live on the edge of urban areas - with many relocating to the
countryside. This is called counter-urbanisation.
Inner City - you need to explain why inner city areas in MEDC countries
such as Britain are often areas of decline? This is known as the spiral of
decline. The inner city has been improved in Britain through Government
assistance and private company investment.
Brownfield sites
A derelict industrial pottery site, due to be redeveloped
Brownfield sites are often on disused or derelict land. There are more available
in the North and Midlands (but most housing demand is in the south east).
These sites are valuable as existing buildings can be split up into more homes
on any one site. The site has already been developed so reduces urban sprawl.
These are unsightly areas for building developments, so improves the urban
environment. Brownfield sites are found in urban areas, so building housing
there reduces demand on car use. This land is more expensive to build on as
often the land needs to be cleared first (especially if land is contaminated from
previous industrial use).
Greenfield sites
A residential housing development at Priors Park, Tewkesbury, Gloucester.
Greenfield sites which have not previously been built on. This includes the
greenbelt land around cities. The land is cheaper to build on. However,
developing these areas are not favoured by environmentalists, as it encourages
urban sprawl and will mean that countryside is built on. Also, building on
Greenfield sites encourages commuting and traffic congestion as people travel
into urban areas from the countryside.
 Urban land use zones and urban land use change (Old RG page 81-83).
 Urban issues/problems (RG pages 82-85).
PS I will give you photocopies of the pages from the older edition of your
Revision Guide to cover settlement (pages indicated as Old RG above).
 Transport and Industry
 The different types (sectors) of economic activity - primary,
secondary, tertiary, quaternary. You need to know what type of jobs
come under each sector e.g. fishermen come under the Primary
Sector (RG pages 100-104).
 Industrial Location – reasons why industry/companies locate where
they do. (RG pages 102-104)
 How economic activities operate in contrasting locations – You need
to know how a multi-national company operates both in a developed
(MEDC) and developing country (LEDC). Also, you need to know the
Positive and Negative impacts on the local area in both countries.
Your case study is Nike and its operations in the USA and Indonesia.
Remember that you will need to go through your work on
Geography Fieldwork (completed work done during the
Christmas holiday period).
 It is important for you to adopt an effective way to revise which suits you.
Given my experience to date, I find that those students using a card system
tend to fare better in examinations. This is where the pupil writes key
points/draws diagrams from their notes/textbook onto a small card (size of a
postcard) and revises these.
 Remember, it is impossible to revise everything so you have to be smart –
identify the key points! For the case studies, I have done this for you but you
can still break down the information further.
A final note – Examinations are important and people get nervous over
them. The best way to approach examinations is to be well prepared. Your
responses to questions will be more effective if you are relaxed and confident
in your preparation.