Volume 29, Number 2, November 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
Where has our beach
gone? The impacts of the
UK’s 2014 storms
2–6
Unit 2 Crowded coasts
Question and answer
Migration
7–9
Unit 1 Going global
Asha: a case study on an
NGO in Delhi
10–13
Changing places
Manchester Ship Canal: a
case study of floodplain
development
14–16
Building on the basics Sealevel rise
17–19
Centrepiece Ebola
20–21
Using GIS to map quality of
life
22–26
Unit 2 Rebranding places
and Unequal spaces
options
Geographical skills Using
census data
27–29
Unit 1 Going global (Roots)
Geographical ideas The
Anthropocene
30–31
AS and A2 students
Rivers deltas at risk: a case
study from the
Mediterranean
32–36
Unit 2 Crowded coasts
Everybody’s talking about…
Sovereign wealth funds
37–39
Unit 3 Superpower
geographies and Bridging
the development gap
Energy matters Kashagan:
case study of a troubled
megaproject
40–41
Unit 3 Energy security
The big picture Managing
erosion in coastal dunes
42
Philip Allan Publishers © 2015
A2
Unit 3 Bridging the
development gap
Unit 2 Rebranding places
Unit 2 Extreme weather
Unit 1 World at risk
Unit 3 Bridging the
development gap and Unit
4 Pollution and human
health at risk
Unit 2 All options
Unit 2 Crowded coasts
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Where has our beach gone? The impacts of the
UK’s 2014 storms

This article is useful for AS Unit 2 Crowded coasts
The 2014 storms in the UK led to widespread coastal flooding and significant erosion in some
locations. This was down to the physical characteristics of the storms and especially the tracks they
took as they approached the UK coast. Tides influenced the degree of coastal flooding and, combined
with large waves, caused widespread changes to beaches. The article’s focus on physical processes
is a useful one as understanding of these underpins decisions about coastal management.
Question and answer Migration

This Question and Answer is from the Edexcel Unit 1 examination so can be used in class and
as a follow up if the questions are set as a homework activity.
Migration is a topic that can lead to problems, as it is terminology heavy and the definitions of different
types of migrant can easily be confused. There can be problems when candidates write overly general
answers to questions that relate specific migrant types and flows. A useful approach would be to set
one or more questions either as a homework exercise, or perhaps a small group exercise in class and
follow this up by peer marking and comparison to the answers in the article.
Asha: a case study on an NGO in Delhi

This article relates most closely to the Unit 3 topic Bridging the development gap.

It could also be used in the context of the managing cities part of AS Unit 1 Going global.
Students rarely use specific case studies on NGOs and their work in answers to Unit 3 questions in
the exam. Many candidates refer to big international NGOs (or BINGOs) such as Oxfam or Save the
Children but rarely comment on their work in detail. This article provides a useful example as Asha
works in an urban context and inequalities within megacities are part of the Unit 3 specification.
Inequalities in terms of specific groups (women, castes, ethnicities) are also mentioned in the
specification and the article draws attention to Asha’s work with some of these groups.
Changing places Manchester Ship Canal: a case
study of floodplain development

This piece is most useful for AS Unit 2, both Rebranding places and (to a lesser extent)
Extreme weather in terms of the focus on floodplain development.
Essentially the article is a synoptic one, drawing together different topic strands. These include the
decline of the ship canal as an important piece of industrial infrastructure, and the subsequent
regeneration and rebranding of some parts of it. The flood-risk element of the plans to develop the
canal corridor show how different players with the process of redevelopment prioritise different things
and in some cases this leads to conflict between them.
Philip Allan Publishers © 2015
www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview
Building on the basics Sea-level rise

This article is useful for the climate-change part of AS Unit 1 World at risk.
Sea-level rise is a topic area that some candidates struggle with. Some specifics are worth
mentioning, such as the often-held belief that melting Arctic sea ice contributes directly to sea-level
rise. The complex interplay of eustatic change and longer-term isostatic change is also an area that
causes problems. The article provides a useful summary of the main factors and processes involved.
It could be used to build a glossary of key terms.
Centrepiece Ebola

This Centrepiece relates directly to A2 Unit 4, the Pollution and human health at risk option.

It would also be a useful read for A2 Unit 3, from the perspective of how Ebola has set back
the development process as well as the national and international response to it.
Unit 4 students could use the Ebola Centrepiece as a starting point for further research. The reasons
why the outbreak occurred where it did are important, as are the human impacts and management.
The outbreak is of course still taking place although its scale has been reduced. The contrasting
success of management in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone is also an interesting avenue to explore.
Using GIS to map quality of life
This article can be used by all students studying Unit 2. Although its focus is on quality of life, the
principles of using GIS to explore and analyse large data sets can be applied in a number of contexts.
Geographical skills Using census data

This census is part of the content for AS Unit 1 in terms of UK population change and ‘Roots’.

It is also often referred to as a source of secondary data in the context of Unit 2.
Using the census is an important skill. It is perhaps most useful when considered in terms of small
areas — the output areas referred to in the article. These are small enough to show quite large
differences even between areas that are geographically close. The Neighbourhood Statistics part of
the online census data set is the place to start when exploring census data. It takes a little time to
become familiar with UK census geography, but once small-area data can be obtained it becomes
very useful in the context of rebranding and understanding inequality.
Geographical ideas The Anthropocene
This article is useful background reading for all students. While it might not appear to relate to any
specific area our students study, it does of course relate to all areas. The question of whether human
impacts have become so significant that they are worthy of their own ‘geological period’ is an
interesting one. Unit 3 students studying The technologic fix? topic might want to consider whether we
need a planetary ‘attitudinal fix’ or a series of ‘geotechnologies’ that amount to technological fixes for
problems caused by humans.
Philip Allan Publishers © 2015
www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview
Rivers deltas at risk: a case study from the
Mediterranean

This article is useful for Unit 2, the Crowded coasts option.
The article highlights the changes that have taken place to the many deltas that ring the
Mediterranean Sea. Perhaps the most significant of these is the recent loss of sediment supply to
many deltas as a result of dam construction – the Nile Delta being the most famous example of this.
Downstream flows of sediment towards the sea form an important part of the sediment cell, and
disruption to sediment cells can significantly increase coastal erosion and flood risks. Sea-level rise
can exacerbate this problem further.
Everybody’s talking about… Sovereign wealth funds

This article links to the A2 Unit 3 Contested planet topic Superpower geographies.

It also relates to the Globalisation topic from Unit 1, and can be related to development issues
with the A2 Bridging the development gap topic.
Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), while not found in all countries, are nevertheless an important
component of global investment. Government-run SWFs which are worth $100s of billions rival the
GDP of entire countries, as well as the annual turnovers of TNCs. Many are based on revenue from
the sale of fossil-fuel energy resources. SWFs can be a godsend for cash-strapped developed
countries that need money for major investment projects, but as they are essentially owned and run by
foreign governments there are question marks over the desirability of one nation state owning ‘chunks’
of another.
Energy matters Kashagan: case study of a troubled
megaproject

This case study is useful for A2 Unit 3 Energy security
Kashagan could be used as an example of how the shift from ‘easy to find and extract’ oil towards oil
found in isolated, challenging locations is changing the oil industry. Like other large oil discoveries in
the last 20 years (offshore oil in Brazil), extracting and transporting Kashagan’s oil is not simple and is
likely to be expensive. As the amount of ‘easy’ oil declines, more and more production will rely on
locations such as this. The costs so far are eye-watering, but such is the world’s reliance on crude oil.
The big picture Managing erosion in coastal dunes
This big picture can be used alongside the ‘Where has our beach gone’ article at the start of this issue
and the earlier article in Vol. 28, No. 1 referred to in the text. It shows that hard and soft engineering
methods can be combined to reinstate coasts affected by major storm events.
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
Philip Allan Publishers © 2015
www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview