Geography

Urban Challenges and Opportunities in the UK 

• The growth of urban places through rural-urban migration and natural increase.

• Urban challenges and future opportunities.

• A fieldwork visit to Brighton will be undertaken to identify differences in urban areas. 

Why are some earthquakes and eruptions more deadly?

• The movement of the Earth’s plates and the resulting volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis.

• An investigation into the causes and effects of tectonic hazards.

Tropical rainforests - the lungs of the world?

• Location of the major world biomes, and factors influencing their distribution

• Climatic characteristics of tropical rainforests

• Plant and animal adaptations

• Threats to tropical rainforests

• Local, regional and global significance of tropical rainforests

World Cities

• Urbanisation and the growth of megacities.

• Squatter settlements.

• Should Dharavi (a shanty town in Mumbai) be demolished?  A case for the prosecution - or for the defence?

• Sustainable cities (e.g. Curitiba, Brazil)

Tectonics and development

• Why do so many people live in tectonically active regions of the world?

• Learning to live with earthquakes - designing earthquake-proof buildings

• Can people predict earthquakes, eruptions and tsunamis?

• Why did the 2010 Haiti earthquake kill more people than the 2012 Christchurch (NZ) earthquake?

How will I be assessed?

For each topic there will be an assessment, which might take various formats:

• Formal tests

• Extended writing (GCSE-style)

• Research tasks

• Skills-based assessments (maps, graphs, photograph analysis)

• Decision-making exercise