The course in all three years aims to encourage the students to enquire about the world about them by studying real places and people throughout the world, examining the processes which have created our natural and human environment and looking at some of the major themes and issues which affect the world around us and appreciating that different people have various values, attitudes and responses towards these issues. Students will use a variety of sources including maps, graphs, newspapers, the internet, fieldwork as well as books and present their work in a variety of styles and methods.
- Study of settlements - the functions; location; growth and patterns found in cities with particular reference to London, Los Angeles and Rome, including a local study of the Vatican.
- Rivers and flooding - the river system; causes and results of floods with particular reference to Bedford, England.
- Weather - microclimates; causes of rain; weather patterns in Europe.
- Hurricanes - causes; results and human responses with particular reference to the Caribbean.
- The Alps - avalanches; glaciation and the impact of tourism on the alpine environment.
- Coasts and beaches - coastal erosion and deposition with particular reference to Southern England and how people can manage the coast.
- Kenya - climate and physical environment; problems facing people in a less developed country and how tourism may or may not help.
- Agriculture - problems of farming and the need to diversify; the impact that modern farming has made on the environment.
- Resource management - with particular attention to world energy and the need to use renewable sources as oil runs out.
- Tourism - National Parks and tourism in mountains; tourism in the Mediterranean and tourism in fragile environments (rain forest in Borneo).
- Niagara Falls - formation of water falls and tourism.
- River study - river processes and human interaction along rivers; including a local river study.
- The Sahel - drought and its effects; soil erosion and desertification.
- Italy - main physical features and climate; a comparison between the north and south; migration within Italy; Venice and problems of subsidence; pollution and tourism.
- Industry - industrial location; the causes, consequences and solutions to industrial decline; impact of globalisation; environmental pollution with reference to the Aral Sea.
- Earthquakes and Volcanoes - impact and responses to earthquakes in N. India and San Francisco; distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes and plate tectonics; structure and characteristics of volcanoes of different types; Lake Bracciano.
- Population - population distribution in Britain and Europe; world population change; population growth and demographic changes; cause and impact of migration.
- Brazil - with particular reference to the shanty towns of the large cities; Amazon Rain Forest - its climate, environment, deforestation and the need for sustainable development.