Advanced Subsidiary Level Geography

CAMBRIDGE 9696

This Sample shows One module from the full course and is designed to give you a flavour of the Wolsey Hall approach to home study.

Welcome to your Wolsey Hall AS Geography course which prepares you for the Cambridge International AS 9696 examinations in 2027, 2028 and 2029 only.

This online course will lead you step by step through the syllabus by our structured course modules and assignments. The course is supported by a coursebook and extensive online resources.

‘Geography explains the past, illuminates the present and prepares us for the future. What could be more important than that?’ Michael Palin 2007 (former RGS-IBG President).

At A Level, geography is a ‘facilitating subject’. Its combination of physical and social sciences, data skills and real-world applications, makes geography a highly relevant subject to study and the perfect companion to any other humanities or science subjects. Geography is the bridge between the natural and social sciences, providing its own specialist knowledge and skills and the valuable interdisciplinary approaches needed to address pressing global issues from climate change and migration, to environmental change and social cohesion. Geography is fundamental to understanding and interpreting spatial and temporal change and issues affecting people, places and environments. It encourages students to understand contemporary issues and the complexity of environmental systems. Students gain an understanding of the impacts of human activity on environments and how these impacts can be managed sustainably. Studying real examples and case studies illustrates the diversity and interdependence of physical and human environments.

A Level geography is a versatile qualification that is well respected by employers and universities alike. Employers highly value geography qualifications because geography students can think logically and analytically. They are accurate and objective in collecting, recording, processing, presenting, analysing and interpreting data. They can also interpret and evaluate different sources and types of information and present a structured, coherent and evidence-based argument. If you want to better understand our world, a rewarding job that pays well and to help shape the future, then look no further: choose geography. ‘Geography prepares for the world of work - geographers, with their skills of analysis are highly employable!’ Michael Palin.

'This is a great age for geography. Very big questions - climate, poverty, disease, migration, water, energy, biodiversity - all demand geographical analysis, as do specific national issues in the UK, like housing, social deprivation, flooding and regional development. As the population grows, and with pressures on the Earth's systems increasing, geography has never been so important.' Nicholas Crane (former RGS-IBG President).
The aims of this course are to enable you to develop:

An understanding of the principal processes operating within physical geography and human geography.
An understanding of the causes and effects of change on natural and human environments.
An awareness of the usefulness of geographical analysis to understand and solve contemporary human and environmental problems.
The ability to handle and evaluate different types and sources of information.
The skills to think logically, and to present an ordered and coherent argument in a variety of ways.
An excellent foundation for studies beyond Cambridge International A Level in Geography, in further or higher education, and for professional courses.

Click here to view the course guide

Introduction

This course leads you step-by-step through the syllabus using your coursebook, video links, quizzes and assignments, so that by the end you will feel confident and ready to show off all you’ve learnt in your AS exams.

We hope you’ll enjoy your AS course and studying with Wolsey Hall. The main thing to remember is your tutor is always here to help, so please contact them whenever you have a question, no matter how big or small, and we will do our very best to help you do your very best!

Course Support

When you enrol with Wolsey Hall you will be appointed a Student Progress Manager who is your key contact with the College. They will support you throughout your course and help you keep to your assignment schedule.

Once you have accepted your course invitation on Canvas, you will receive an introductory email from your Wolsey Hall course tutor. Your tutor will then invite you to have a Welcome video call where they will introduce themselves to you and show you around your course. This is an opportunity for you to see your tutor and to start a relationship that we hope will allow you to thrive and will bring you success. You can also have a second call (30 minutes max) with your tutor during the course and we encourage you to use this opportunity to review your progress so far and talk through any concerns or questions that you may have.

Course Structure

Each of our Wolsey Hall courses is written around a specialised coursebook which has been chosen by our tutor team as the best available text for each syllabus. You will be guided through this book by working through a series of online modules. These course modules have been developed by a subject specialist and include guidance linked to the coursebook and additional resources. There is a link to any subscription site logins on the home page.

Once you are happy that you have achieved all the learning objectives for that Module, you will begin work on the Module Assignment. The Assignments are submitted online and marked by your Course Tutor. Each Assignment is assessed by your tutor and returned with a grade and detailed feedback.

From the home page of your course there are links to the Course Specification – syllabus and course programme of study, Resources for your course, Logins to any subscription sites and the Canvas Guide.

What does this Course cover?

The 8 course modules (plus one for Exam Preparation) each cover one of the following syllabus topics:

Hydrology, river processes and hazards
Atmospheric processes and global climate change
Earth processes and mass movements
Population and migration
Water resources and management
Urban areas and management

The course modules will take you through this syllabus content and provide you opportunities to demonstrate the following assessment objectives:

AO1 Knowledge and understanding
AO2 Skills and analysis
AO3 Evaluation

Your Coursebook & Resources

More information can be found in the ’Course Specification’ section which can be found in the quick links at the top of the page.

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

Cambridge International AS and A Level Geography, by Garrett Nagle and Paul Guinness, (3rd edition, 2025); ISBN: 9781036009502 (Hachette Learning).

Programme of Study

You will find the Course Specification link at the top of the home page which includes the relevant syllabus that your course covers and also the Programme of Study. This important document is an overview of your course and shows how each module is broken down into sessions and which pages of the coursebook are studied in each. Your Programme of Study also shows which syllabus sections are covered in each course module.

We recommend that you download your Programme of Study and refer to it as you progress through the course.

Syllabus and Exam information

More information can be found in the ’Course Specification’ section which can be found in the quick links at the top of the page.

The CIE syllabus can be found in the ’Course Specification’ section which can be found in the quick links at the top of the page.

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

IMPORTANT: COURSE VALIDITY

This course is valid for students sitting AS Geography exams in 2027-2029. If you are not planning to sit the exams in 2027, 2028 or 2029, please let your SPM know immediately.

It is vitally important that you become familiar with the syllabus.

PLEASE NOTE:

The examination code for AS Geography is 9696.

For your AS qualification you will sit 2 papers:

Paper 1

Physical Geography

1 hour 30 minutes

60 marks

Section A: 45 marks

Structured questions based on: Hydrology, river processes and hazards Atmospheric processes and global climate change Earth processes and mass movements.

Section B: 15 marks One essay question from a choice of three, one on each topic.

50% of the AS Level OR 25% of the A Level*

Paper 2

Human Geography

1 hour 30 minutes

60 marks

Section A: 45 marks

Structured questions based on:

Population and migration

Water resources and management

Urban areas and management.

Section B: 15 marks

One essay question from a choice of three, one on each topic.

50% of the AS Level OR 25% of the A Level*

*Students sitting the full A-level will also take Paper 3 and Paper 4. The % weighting of each paper is adjusted accordingly as stated above.

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 coursebook. 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.

Meet the Team

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 see your tutor in the welcome video 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 and who is now your key contact for Wolsey Hall.

• 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 talk to your SBC or submit a Canvas Help Ticket.

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

You are now ready to start the AS Geography course so make sure that you’ve downloaded your Programme of Study and click on Module One to get going!

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