Full pathway · AQA 8035
GCSE Geography, stage by stage
Eight taught stages across both papers, a three-term plan that says what to study each week, and exam-style papers that mark themselves as you go.
GCSE Geography
Pathway progress
0 of 17 lessons
Marked checks
68
inside the taught lessons
Exam-style papers
3
Papers 1, 2 and 3 practice
Specification coverage
0/8
points with marked evidence
Choosing Geography as your main subject
Move your home page to GCSE Geography and put it first in your plan. Nothing in your KS3 work is lost.
Your three-term plan
Autumn term
- Natural hazards
Weeks 1–3
Plate margins, tectonic case studies in contrasting places, and risk management.
- Weather hazards
Weeks 4–5
Tropical storm formation and structure, UK extreme weather and climate change evidence.
- The living world
Weeks 6–8
Ecosystems, rainforest nutrient cycling and deforestation, hot deserts and desertification.
- River landscapes
Weeks 9–12
Fluvial processes, landforms down the long profile, hydrographs and flood management.
End of term: Paper 1 practice on hazards and rivers, plus one 9-mark evaluation written to time.
Spring term
- Coastal landscapes
Weeks 1–3
Waves and weathering, the cave-to-stump sequence, longshore drift, spits and management.
- Urban issues and challenges
Weeks 4–6
Global urbanisation, a major city in a lower-income country, a UK city and sustainable living.
- The changing economic world
Weeks 7–9
Development measures, the demographic transition, closing the gap and UK economic change.
- Physical fieldwork enquiry
Weeks 10–11
River or coast enquiry: hypothesis, systematic sampling, data collection, presentation.
Mid-term: coastal management assessment. End of term: Paper 2 practice on urban and economic change.
Summer term
- Resource management
Weeks 1–3
UK food, water and energy overview, then the global water option in depth.
- Human fieldwork enquiry
Weeks 4–5
Urban or economic enquiry, contrasting with the physical one, then written up and evaluated.
- Skills and statistics
Weeks 6–7
Cartographic, graphical and statistical skills practised across past figures.
- Paper 3 issue evaluation
Weeks 8–10
Pre-release booklet study and timed decision-making responses.
- Retrieval and exam practice
Weeks 11–12
Spaced retrieval across all case studies, plus full timed papers.
Full mock series: Paper 1, Paper 2 and a Paper 3 decision-making response under exam conditions.
The taught stages
GCSE natural hazards
Plate margins, tectonic contrasts, tropical storms and UK extreme weather.
0/2 done
GCSE the living world
Ecosystems, rainforest nutrient cycling and deforestation, hot deserts and desertification.
0/2 done
GCSE UK river landscapes
Fluvial processes, landforms down the long profile, hydrographs and flood management.
0/2 done
GCSE UK coastal landscapes
Waves, the cave-to-stump sequence, longshore drift and the cost of defending a coast.
0/2 done
GCSE urban issues and challenges
Urbanisation, a major city in a lower-income country, a UK city and sustainable living.
0/2 done
GCSE the changing economic world
Measuring development, closing the gap, TNCs and economic change in the UK.
0/2 done
GCSE resource management
UK food, water and energy, then the global water option in depth.
0/2 done
GCSE fieldwork, skills and Paper 3
Two fieldwork enquiries, cartographic and statistical skills, and the issue evaluation.
0/3 done
Year 8 foundations
These Year 8 units are written in the same textbook style and each one feeds a named part of the AQA 8035 specification, so the knowledge carries straight into the GCSE stages above.
Describe the structure of the Earth and explain what drives plate movement.
Explain the processes and landforms at each type of plate margin.
Distinguish primary from secondary effects and explain why impacts differ between places.
Evaluate why people live in hazardous places and how risk is reduced.
Explain how circulation cells create the world's climate belts.
Explain the formation, effects and management of extreme weather events.
Evaluate evidence for climate change and distinguish natural from human causes.
Compare strategies that reduce emissions with strategies that manage consequences.
Explain the causes and global pattern of urbanisation.
Evaluate the opportunities and challenges of rapid urban growth in an NEE.
Explain how and why UK cities have changed, and evaluate regeneration.
Compare development measures and explain economic change between sectors.
Use grid references, scale, direction and contour patterns to describe a place.
Choose and interpret the right technique for a set of geographical data.
Plan, carry out and evaluate a geographical enquiry using primary data.
Exam-style papers
Geography practice paper: physical and human challenges
Exam-style questions across landscapes, urban change, resources and fieldwork method.
Paper 1 practice: living with the physical environment
Hazards, the living world, rivers and coasts, in the balance the real Paper 1 uses.
Paper 2 and 3 practice: human environment, fieldwork and decisions
Urban change, development, resources, enquiry method, skills and issue evaluation.
AQA 8035
Living with the physical environment, challenges in the human environment, and geographical applications including fieldwork and an issue evaluation.
- Paper 1Living with the physical environment, 1h 30m, 88 marks (35%).
- Paper 2Challenges in the human environment, 1h 30m, 88 marks (35%).
- Paper 3Geographical applications: issue evaluation and fieldwork, 1h 15m, 76 marks (30%).