GCSE Geography specification
GCSE Geography studies the physical and human world in a single balanced framework - landscapes and natural processes, the way people live and shape places, and the issues that arise where the two interact - using real case studies across the UK, higher-income, newly-emerging and lower-income countries. It builds locational knowledge, geographical skills (maps, GIS, graphs, statistics) and the ability to evaluate evidence and make reasoned judgements.
Assessed entirely by external written exams (no coursework/NEA since the 2016 reforms). Almost all boards use three papers covering physical geography, human geography and an applied/skills/issue-evaluation component. Compulsory fieldwork in two contrasting environments (one physical, one human) is required by law but is assessed through questions in the written exams rather than a marked written-up investigation; centres sign a fieldwork declaration. Across boards roughly 30% of marks reward applying knowledge (AO3) and using geographical skills (AO4), of which a defined slice (commonly 15% overall) relates to fieldwork.
High-level topics
The main areas of content and what a student is expected to know and do.
Causes, effects and management of earthquakes, volcanoes and tropical storms, plus UK weather hazards and the evidence for, and responses to, climate change.
Formation and management of UK landscapes - rivers/fluvial processes and flooding, and coasts/coastal processes and defences - and in some specs glaciated upland landscapes; how landforms result from physical processes over time.
How ecosystems function, plus the global distribution, characteristics, value and threats of large-scale biomes - typically tropical rainforests and one of hot deserts/cold environments - and strategies for sustainable management.
Global urbanisation and megacities; a case study of a major city in an LIC/NEE and one in the UK, covering growth, opportunities, challenges (squatter settlements, deprivation, congestion) and sustainable urban living.
Measuring and explaining the global development gap, the demographic transition, strategies to reduce inequality, a case study of a NEE/LIC, and economic change in the UK including post-industrial and rural change.
Global and UK supply, demand and inequalities in food, water and energy, and the strategies - large-scale and sustainable - used to manage at least one of these resources.
How places and economies are connected through trade, migration, aid, TNCs and technology, and the uneven consequences of globalisation - emphasised especially in the enquiry/issues-based specs (OCR B, Edexcel B, Eduqas B).
A focused study of the UK's physical and human geography - landscapes, population, economy, environmental challenges and how the UK fits into the wider world.
Compulsory primary data collection in one physical and one human environment, covering the enquiry process - question/hypothesis, methods, data presentation, analysis, conclusions and evaluation - assessed via exam questions on both the student's own fieldwork and unfamiliar contexts.
Cartographic, graphical, numerical and statistical skills - OS maps, GIS, photos, data interpretation, measures of central tendency and dispersion - applied throughout and tested directly in the skills/applied paper.
Applying geographical knowledge and skills to a contemporary issue using a pre-released resource booklet or unseen sources, weighing options and justifying a decision in an extended response.
Exam boards
The awarding bodies that offer this qualification, how their papers are structured, and what's distinctive about each - with links to the official specification.
AQA GCSE Geography
Papers & assessment
3 papers, untiered. Paper 1 Living with the physical environment (1h30, 88 marks incl. 3 SPaG, 35%); Paper 2 Challenges in the human environment (1h30, 88 marks incl. 3 SPaG, 35%); Paper 3 Geographical applications (1h15, 76 marks incl. 6 SPaG, 30%) - split into a pre-release issue evaluation and a fieldwork section. No NEA; compulsory fieldwork in two contrasting environments assessed in Paper 3.
What's distinctive
The market-leading, content-led spec with the familiar four-unit structure (physical / human / applications / skills). Paper 3 uses a pre-released resource booklet for issue evaluation alongside fieldwork questions. Fieldwork (15% overall) is split across AO3 (10%) and AO4 (5%).
Past papers & mark schemes
Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9–1) Geography A (Geographical Themes and Concepts)
Papers & assessment
3 papers, untiered. Component 1 The Physical Environment (94 marks, 37.5%); Component 2 The Human Environment (94 marks, 37.5%); Component 3 Geographical Investigations: Fieldwork and UK Challenges (64 marks, 25%). From September 2025 Papers 1 and 2 changed from 1h30 to 1h45; Paper 3 is 1h30. No NEA; fieldwork in two contrasting environments (one physical from river/coastal landscape, one human from urban/rural) assessed in Component 3.
What's distinctive
A traditional themes-and-concepts route. Component 3 explicitly pairs the student's own fieldwork with a UK-challenges decision-making exercise. Paper timings were lengthened in 2025.
Past papers & mark schemes
Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9–1) Geography B (Investigating Geographical Issues)
Papers & assessment
3 papers, untiered. Component 1 Global Geographical Issues (94 marks, 37.5%); Component 2 UK Geographical Issues (94 marks, 37.5%); Component 3 People and Environment Issues - Making Geographical Decisions (64 marks, 25%). No NEA; fieldwork in two contrasting environments assessed within Component 2 (UK Geographical Issues). Paper timings updated alongside the A spec.
What's distinctive
An enquiry/issues-led alternative to Edexcel A. Fieldwork sits inside the UK Geographical Issues paper (Component 2) rather than its own component, and Component 3 is a pre-release decision-making exercise on a people–environment issue.
Specification
Past papers & mark schemes
OCR GCSE (9–1) Geography A (Geographical Themes)
Papers & assessment
3 papers, untiered, total 200 marks. J383/01 Living in the UK Today (1h, 60 marks, 30%); J383/02 The World Around Us (1h, 60 marks, 30%); J383/03 Geographical Skills (1h30, 80 marks, 40%). No NEA; compulsory fieldwork in two contrasting environments assessed via questions in J383/03.
What's distinctive
A clear, themes-based route. Distinctively, a dedicated 40%-weighted Geographical Skills paper (J383/03) carries the fieldwork and skills assessment, leaving the two content papers shorter (1 hour each).
Specification
Past papers & mark schemes
OCR GCSE (9–1) Geography B (Geography for Enquiring Minds)
Papers & assessment
3 papers, untiered, total 185 marks. J384/01 Our Natural World (1h15, 63 marks, 34%); J384/02 People and Society (1h15, 62 marks, 34%); J384/03 Geographical Exploration (1h30, 60 marks, 32%). No NEA; compulsory fieldwork in two contrasting environments - coasts (physical) and an urban context (human) - assessed via unfamiliar-context fieldwork questions in Papers 01 and 02, with a decision-making exercise in Paper 03.
What's distinctive
An enquiry-driven course built around key questions. Fieldwork is examined through 'unfamiliar context' questions embedded in the two content papers, and Paper 03 (Geographical Exploration) is a synoptic, resource-based decision-making paper.
Specification
Past papers & mark schemes
Eduqas (WJEC) GCSE Geography A
Papers & assessment
3 components, untiered. Component 1 Changing Physical and Human Landscapes (1h30, 88 marks incl. 4 SPaG, 35%); Component 2 Environmental and Development Issues (1h30, 88 marks incl. 4 SPaG, 35%); Component 3 Applied Fieldwork Enquiry (1h30, 76 marks incl. 4 SPaG, 30%). No NEA; compulsory fieldwork in two contrasting environments assessed in Component 3.
What's distinctive
A thematic, place-based route (available to centres in England as the Eduqas brand of WJEC). Component 3 is a three-part Applied Fieldwork Enquiry covering methodology, conceptual frameworks and a UK-context decision, and SPaG is explicitly marked in every paper.
Specification
Past papers & mark schemes
Eduqas (WJEC) GCSE Geography B
Papers & assessment
3 components, untiered. Component 1 Investigating Geographical Issues (themed questions, ~40%); Component 2 Problem Solving Geography (~30%); Component 3 Applied Fieldwork Enquiry (~30%). All written exams; no NEA; compulsory fieldwork in two contrasting environments assessed in Component 3 (a three-part paper: fieldwork methodology, issue context/possible solutions, and a justified decision).
What's distinctive
A distinctive problem-solving route: Component 2 (Problem Solving Geography) presents an issue with possible solutions and asks candidates to justify a choice, and Component 3's Parts A & B contain no AO1/AO2 recall - they test application of fieldwork understanding to new contexts.
Specification
Past papers & mark schemes
WJEC GCSE Geography (for centres in Wales)
Papers & assessment
Untiered, linear. The legacy 2016 spec uses 3 components - Unit 1 Changing Physical and Human Landscapes (1h30, ~83 marks), Unit 2 Environmental and Development Issues, and Unit 3 Applied Fieldwork Enquiry. Note: WJEC has a NEW Made-for-Wales GCSE Geography for first teaching September 2025 / first award 2027, approved by Qualifications Wales; the 2016 spec is being phased out.
What's distinctive
WJEC is the Wales-facing awarding body (Eduqas is its England-facing brand); content closely mirrors Eduqas A. Wales is mid-reform - a new specification began teaching in 2025, so current cohorts may sit either the 2016 or 2025 spec.
Specification
Past papers & mark schemes
All boards are untiered and linear, all dropped controlled-assessment/NEA in the 2016 reforms, and all require compulsory fieldwork in two contrasting environments (one physical, one human) that is assessed only through exam questions plus a centre fieldwork declaration. The biggest choice is the philosophy: 'A' specs are content/themes-led while 'B' specs are enquiry/issues/problem-solving-led - this holds for Edexcel (A 1GA0 themes vs B 1GB0 issues), OCR (A J383 'Geographical Themes' vs B J384 'Geography for Enquiring Minds') and Eduqas (A thematic vs B problem-solving). Paper architecture differs in where fieldwork lives: AQA puts fieldwork + a pre-release issue evaluation in a third 'Geographical applications' paper; OCR A uses a standalone 40%-weighted Geographical Skills paper; OCR B and Edexcel B embed fieldwork inside the content papers and reserve the third paper for synoptic decision-making; Edexcel A gives fieldwork its own Component 3 alongside UK challenges. Weightings vary slightly (e.g. AQA/Eduqas A 35/35/30; OCR A 30/30/40; OCR B 34/34/32; Edexcel 37.5/37.5/25). Pre-release/decision-making booklets feature in AQA, Edexcel B and the OCR/Eduqas B routes. Eduqas/WJEC explicitly mark SPaG within papers. Note the geography: Eduqas is the England brand and WJEC the Wales brand of the same body, and Wales is moving to a new Made-for-Wales GCSE (first teaching 2025, first award 2027).
Original sources
Straight from the awarding bodies - the specifications these summaries are drawn from.
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