What topics will the 2022 AQA GCSE Geography exams cover and when are they happening?

After two years of cancellations, GCSE exams are scheduled to go ahead in 2022. 

They will be slightly different to previous years, though, “to recognise disruption to education during the pandemic and maximise fairness for students,” the Department for Education (DfE) has said. 

For AQA GCSE Geography, adjustments to the exams include a choice of sections to answer in one of the papers and changes to questions on fieldwork.

Here’s what you need to know about the topics for the AQA GCSE Geography exams, as well as when the exams are happening and when you’ll get your results. 

In the AQA GCSE Geography Paper 2: Challenges in the human environment, students will have to answer all questions in Section A: Urban issues. 

They will then choose to either answer Section B: The changing economic world or Section C: The challenge of resource management.

Students are also not required to complete fieldwork in 2022, which means changes have been made to AQA: GCSE Geography: Paper 3: Geographical applications to remove questions about students’ own fieldwork experience (familiar fieldwork). 

You can find sample papers to see how the structure of Paper 2 and Paper 3 will work in 2022 on the AQA website here. 

You can also find lots more detail about the adjustments to the 2022 AQA GCSE Geography exams on the AQA website here, including how the mark scheme has changed. 

Advance information is exam-specific information that Ofqual says is intended to support students in “focusing revision for exams”. 

There will not be any advance information released for the 2022 AQA GCSE Geography exams, because the exams have been adjusted in other ways. 

We’ve worked with exam board AQA to create a series of exam advice articles for specific subjects, designed to help you make the most of your revision time and to feel fully prepared for your exams. 

In each of these features, you’ll find advice and easy-to-follow tips written by one of AQA’s subject matter experts.

You can find the AQA article on revising for GCSE Geography exams here. 

AQA: GCSE Geography: 8035/1: Paper 1: Living with the physical environment will take place on the morning of Monday 23 May 2022 and will last for one hour and 30 minutes.

AQA: GCSE Geography: 8035/2: Paper 2: Challenges in the human environment will take place on the afternoon of Tuesday 7 June 2022 and will last for one hour and 15 minutes.

AQA: GCSE Geography: 8035/3 Paper 3: Geographical applications will take place on the morning of Tuesday 14 June 2022 and will last for one hour.