Specification at a glance

This qualification is linear. Linear means that students will sit all their exams at the end of the course.

Subject content

Living with the physical environment

Challenges in the human environment

Geographical applications

Geographical skills

Assessments

Updated

For Paper 3 (8035/3): Geographical applications, the duration of the exam has changed from 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. This change affects exams in summer 2024 onwards.

Paper 1: Living with the physical environment

What's assessed

3.1.1 The challenge of natural hazards, 3.1.2 The living world, 3.1.3 Physical landscapes in the UK, 3.4 Geographical skills

How it's assessed

  • Written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • 88 marks (including 3 marks for spelling, punctuation, grammar and specialist terminology (SPaG))
  • 35% of GCSE

Questions

  • Section A: answer all questions (33 marks)
  • Section B: answer all questions (25 marks)
  • Section C: answer any two questions from questions 3, 4 and 5 (30 marks)
  • Question types: multiple-choice, short answer, levels of response, extended prose

Paper 2: Challenges in the human environment

What's assessed

3.2.1 Urban issues and challenges, 3.2.2 The changing economic world, 3.2.3 The challenge of resource management, 3.4 Geographical skills

How it's assessed

  • Written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • 88 marks (including 3 marks for SPaG)
  • 35% of GCSE

Questions

  • Section A: answer all questions (33 marks)
  • Section B: answer all questions (30 marks)
  • Section C: answer question 3 and one from questions 4, 5 or 6 (25 marks)
  • Question types: multiple-choice, short answer, levels of response, extended prose

Paper 3: Geographical applications

What's assessed

3.3.1 Issue evaluation, 3.3.2 Fieldwork, 3.4 Geographical skills

How it's assessed

  • Written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • 76 marks (including 6 marks for SPaG)
  • 30% of GCSE
  • Pre-release resources booklet made available 12 weeks before Paper 3 exam

Questions

  • Section A: answer all questions (37 marks)
  • Section B: answer all questions (39 marks)
  • Question types: multiple-choice, short answer, levels of response, extended prose