Course Guide

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to your Wolsey Hall Guide to the Cambridge IGCSE Geography course. Please take the time to read carefully through this guide. It will explain how the course is structured, how to get the most out of the course and how your work will be assessed. At the end of this guide you will find the Programme of Study for the course which shows how the course links to the CAIE syllabus.

This course will lead you step-by-step through the syllabus by way of video links, quizzes, assignments and, of course, the Course Book so that by the end you are confident and keen to enter the exam to show off all you have learnt.

Geography is such an important subject.  It teaches us what the world we live in is like now, how it came to be this way, and what it may look like in the future.  It is vital, ever-changing and there is always some new to learn and see!  We hope that, through your studies with Wolsey Hall, you will come to love it as much as we do.

During your course, you will learn a lot about Geography that’s fascinating and useful.  By the end of the course, you should have developed:

  • an understanding of location on a local, regional and global scale
  • an awareness of the characteristics, distribution and processes affecting contrasting physical and human environments
  • an understanding of the ways in which people interact with each other and with their environment
  • an awareness of the contrasting opportunities and constraints presented by different environments
  • an appreciation of and concern for the environment
  • an appreciation of the earth including its people, places, landscapes, natural processes and phenomena.

SYLLABUS AND EXAMINATION

This Wolsey Hall course is designed to prepare you for the Cambridge IGCSE Geography examination which you will sit at a Cambridge exam centre.

It is vitally important that you become familiar with the syllabus which can be found here.

IMPORTANT – PLEASE NOTE:

The examination code for IGCSE Geography (Graded A* to G) is 0460.

The examination code for IGCSE Geography (Graded 9 to 1) is 0976*.

*Exam code 0976 applies only to Zone 3 exam centres for exams from 2019 onwards.  Students taking their exam in Zone 3 may choose which grading system they prefer when they register at an exam centre by selecting either exam code 0460 or exam code 0976.  Students taking their exam in the other Administrative Zones will take exam code 0460.

In your exam, you will sit 3 papers:

  • Paper 1: Geographical Themes: This paper lasts 1hr 45m and is worth 45% of your final grade.

Candidates answer three questions, each worth 25 marks. The paper has three sections and each section will be based on Themes 1, 2 or 3. Candidates must answer one question from each section.

  • Paper 2: Geographical Skills: This paper lasts 1hr 30m and is worth 27.5% of your final grade.

Candidates answer all the questions. The paper is based on testing the interpretation and analysis of geographical information, decision-making and the application of graphical techniques. The questions will not require specific information about places but will require the use of a 1:25 000 or 1:50 000 map with a key.

  • Paper 4: Alternative to Coursework: This paper lasts 1hr 30m and is worth 27.5% of your final grade.

Candidates answer two compulsory questions, completing a series of written tasks. The fieldwork scenarios for the two questions will be taken from different aspects of the Syllabus content. The questions involve an appreciation of a range of techniques used in fieldwork studies.

YOUR COURSE BOOK AND RESOURCES

Wolsey Hall offers a unique model of offline and online resources to our homeschooling students – a model which we have developed based on our many years’ experience of providing home schooling courses to students.

Course Book

Each subject specialist team carefully selects the best course book from which you will study. The course book for your Geography course is:

  • Cambridge IGCSE Geography, by Paul Guinness and Garrett Nagle, (Hodder Education, 2018, 3rd edition); ISBN: 9781510421363

This book has been carefully prepared to cover the full curriculum for the latest Cambridge International Examinations IGCSE Geography syllabus. It is accompanied by a CD-ROM offering study and revision support.  It covers the three geographical themes: population and settlement, the natural environment, and economic development thoroughly and contains up-to-date case studies from around the world.

If you wish to purchase other additional books to help you with your studies, you will find a list of items we recommend in the document ‘Recommended Resources’ on Canvas within General Resources.

Throughout the course, we recommend that you try all the questions in the course book – the Programme of Study (POS, see below) will highlight which pages you should read for each Module.

STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE

All the files required for your Course are uploaded onto our Learning Management System, Canvas. Once you have read through this guide and downloaded the POS then you are ready to begin the course.

The Course is divided into eight Modules which cover one section of the syllabus at a time. These IGCSE Geography Modules will help you to get the most out of your Course Book. Each Module is subdivided into Topics so that you can study the course in manageable chunks. Each Topic is set out as follows:

  • Reading – this section will include both the page references and required activities from your course book.
  • Case Studies – this section will require you to carry out investigations into geographical topics.
  • Links – there will be links to resources that will enhance your understanding of key concepts and will give you an opportunity to apply your knowledge.

At the end of each Module, you should complete the End of Module Quiz to test your understanding of material covered in the module. This is a multiple-choice activity that can be completed as many times as you wish to ensure that you have achieved all the learning goals for the Module.

HOW YOUR WORK IS ASSESSED

Your progress will be assessed by completing an assignment at the end of each Module.  We recommend that you do NOT look at the assignments until you've studied all the topics in the Module. This will ensure that you focus on everything you need to know for the exam. If you focus only on what you need to know to do well in the assignment, you will miss important elements in each Module that you need to know and understand.

The assignments have been designed to help you prepare for your final examination – many of the questions are based on past exam papers. They will also help you develop the all-important exam technique which will help you to understand just what the examiner is looking for. We do not expect you to complete your assignments without referring to your notes or Course book. However, we encourage you to rely less on these as you progress through the course. By your final assignment you should be able to work without reference to any additional notes.

The assignments allow you to think critically about what you have learned and will enable your tutor to see how well you are progressing. Your tutor will mark your assignments and provide you with detailed feedback. Once you have had your marked assignment returned, you will be able to access the Mark Scheme and/or a Specimen Answer (an A-grade piece of work). You should reflect carefully on your tutor’s feedback and apply it in your future assignments.

We ask that you do not submit multiple assignments at the same time. It is very important that you reflect on your tutor’s feedback before beginning each new assignment, so that you can incorporate their tips for improvement into each new piece of work.

You should read the assignment questions carefully and answer them to the best of your ability, providing relevant examples where necessary. If you don’t do well in your first assignment - don’t worry - your tutor is there to provide advice.

All assignments are submitted via Canvas – you should consult the Canvas Guide for more information.

HAPPY TO HELP

When you study a Wolsey Hall course, you are never alone! There are lots of people who are willing to help you. Everyone is on your side! 

  • Tutors: At Wolsey Hall, all our tutors are friendly and knowledgeable. They are subject experts and you should not be shy about asking them questions about your course. You will meet your tutor via a video call and you should contact them if you have any questions.
  • Student Progress Managers: You have already been assigned a Student Progress Manager who can help with your assignment schedule.
  • Exams Officers: Wolsey Hall’s Exams Officers are here to help students with any queries regarding exam centres.
  • Canvas Help Desk: Canvas is a great virtual learning environment, but we understand that sometimes, even the best things can go wrong! If you have any problems with Canvas (e.g. uploading assignments or unable to access resources) you should submit a Canvas Help Ticket.

For information about how to create and submit a Help Ticket, please refer to the Canvas Guide.

We hope you’ll enjoy your course and studying at Wolsey Hall. We wish you the best of luck in your studies and success in your examination.

The Wolsey Hall Team

DOWNLOAD YOUR PROGRAMME OF STUDY