The Student Room Group

Geology A-Level

I've picked it for next year because I liked the look of the syllabus and I really enjoyed some of the topics that I've already done briefly in GCSE Geography.

But I haven't really heard or seen anything about it on here so I'm just wondering, is it a respected subject? & how do you find the course - difficult/interesting ect. I'll give rep as much as I can :biggrin:

(The exam board is WJEC)

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Reply 1
Avatar for muzz.r
muzz.r
i did the ocr exam board but i can help.

theres not alot of talk about geology alevels at all on the student room but it definitely is a credited alevel.
its counted as science so if you wanted to do a science related degree its perfect. especially if you dont fancy doing two of physics, chemistry and biology.

geology was my favourite subject so much so that im off to durham uni next year to study geoscience.

so in answer yes it is credited and its a really good subject.

the main tropics for ocr at least but i assume are relatively the same are

continental drift evidence
earthquakes
volcanoes
sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic petrology
oil and gas
water storage
construction geology ie dams tunelling etc
nuclear waste storage
paleontonlogy-- my least favourite as there is ALOT of new terminology to learn especially as you will never of touched on it in geography or biology at gcse. but its still interesting once you get to grips with it.

highly recommend!!:smile:
Reply 2
Avatar for muzz.r
muzz.r
i did the ocr exam board but i can help.

theres not alot of talk about geology alevels at all on the student room but it definitely is a credited alevel.
its counted as science so if you wanted to do a science related degree its perfect. especially if you dont fancy doing two of physics, chemistry and biology.

geology was my favourite subject so much so that im off to durham uni next year to study geoscience.

so in answer yes it is credited and its a really good subject.

the main tropics for ocr at least but i assume are relatively the same are

continental drift evidence
earthquakes
volcanoes
sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic petrology
oil and gas
water storage
construction geology ie dams tunelling etc
nuclear waste storage
paleontonlogy-- my least favourite as there is ALOT of new terminology to learn especially as you will never of touched on it in geography or biology at gcse. but its still interesting once you get to grips with it.

highly recommend!!:smile:
Reply 3
Avatar for mickiesal
mickiesal
2
Original post by AmyLH
I've picked it for next year because I liked the look of the syllabus and I really enjoyed some of the topics that I've already done briefly in GCSE Geography.

But I haven't really heard or seen anything about it on here so I'm just wondering, is it a respected subject? & how do you find the course - difficult/interesting ect. I'll give rep as much as I can :biggrin:

(The exam board is WJEC)


You don't happen to have applied to King Ed's Stourbridge have you? It's just you live in brum and they do geology with wjec there so was just wondering haha.
Reply 4
Avatar for Morkike
Morkike
Original post by mickiesal

Original post by mickiesal
You don't happen to have applied to King Ed's Stourbridge have you? It's just you live in brum and they do geology with wjec there so was just wondering haha.


hey there can i recommend you going to hagley RC or haybridge near King Ed's Stourbridge, its just that last year they had pretty good results in the subject -check it out ..... http://www.hagleyrc.com/ the maths, science and geography department aint to bad either :smile:
Reply 5
Avatar for mickiesal
mickiesal
2
Original post by Morkike
hey there can i recommend you going to hagley RC or haybridge near King Ed's Stourbridge, its just that last year they had pretty good results in the subject -check it out ..... http://www.hagleyrc.com/ the maths, science and geography department aint to bad either :smile:


Well yes you can recommend it but I'm already in year 13 king eds. Plus I don't like the sound of the sixth form at haybridge, it didn't sound like the right 'fit' for me :smile:
Reply 6
Avatar for AmyLH
AmyLH
OP
10
Original post by mickiesal
You don't happen to have applied to King Ed's Stourbridge have you? It's just you live in brum and they do geology with wjec there so was just wondering haha.


Nah I've got into The Sixth Form College, Solihull.
Reply 7
Avatar for mickiesal
mickiesal
2
Original post by AmyLH
Nah I've got into The Sixth Form College, Solihull.


Ahh right, well geology is really great and you'll love it. The wjec spec is really good as well so you'll be fine :smile:
Reply 8
Avatar for AmyLH
AmyLH
OP
10
Original post by mickiesal
Ahh right, well geology is really great and you'll love it. The wjec spec is really good as well so you'll be fine :smile:


Thanks :smile: +rep to you :tongue:
Reply 9
Avatar for lilliehear
lilliehear
8
Original post by AmyLH
I've picked it for next year because I liked the look of the syllabus and I really enjoyed some of the topics that I've already done briefly in GCSE Geography.

But I haven't really heard or seen anything about it on here so I'm just wondering, is it a respected subject? & how do you find the course - difficult/interesting ect. I'll give rep as much as I can :biggrin:

(The exam board is WJEC)


Sorry i know this is a bit old but, seriosuly geology is amazing.
I took both it and geography (before geography was my favourite subject) now i love geology. Its really interesting, i have an amazing class and two amazing teachers. Its also got great job prospects, i do OCR so i cant really comment on WJEC but its geology so its bound to be good aha :biggrin:
Reply 10
Avatar for AmyLH
AmyLH
OP
10
Original post by lilliehear
Sorry i know this is a bit old but, seriosuly geology is amazing.
I took both it and geography (before geography was my favourite subject) now i love geology. Its really interesting, i have an amazing class and two amazing teachers. Its also got great job prospects, i do OCR so i cant really comment on WJEC but its geology so its bound to be good aha :biggrin:


Thanks for replying! Glad I picked it now :tongue:
Original post by AmyLH
Thanks for replying! Glad I picked it now :tongue:


Ah I live in the west midlands, as well and I know most of the places round here have a really good reputation for geology. My friend does the WJEC board and she loves it too :smile: On disadvatage is the bad puns, such as geology rocks, but you get used to them :tongue:
Reply 12
Avatar for AmyLH
AmyLH
OP
10
Original post by lilliehear
Ah I live in the west midlands, as well and I know most of the places round here have a really good reputation for geology. My friend does the WJEC board and she loves it too :smile: On disadvatage is the bad puns, such as geology rocks, but you get used to them :tongue:


There was only one sixth form/college in a reasonable travelling distance that actually did Geology, and at the open day they said it was the least opted for subject, so I'm hoping on lot's of people picking it otherwise they won't run it :s-smilie:

I've heard quite a few of the puns already, my friends are always taking the piss out of me so much for wanting to look at rocks :rolleyes: :tongue:
Original post by AmyLH
There was only one sixth form/college in a reasonable travelling distance that actually did Geology, and at the open day they said it was the least opted for subject, so I'm hoping on lot's of people picking it otherwise they won't run it :s-smilie:

I've heard quite a few of the puns already, my friends are always taking the piss out of me so much for wanting to look at rocks :rolleyes: :tongue:


I'm sure they will, the minimums 3 for a2, and i think 6 for ase at mine - but we have got a pretty small year group. Haha you'll get sooo much more stick "Your studying rocks" "do you lick rocks" "do you sniff rocks" etc... :tongue:
Reply 14
Avatar for lewis1008
lewis1008
I want to do geology next year along with gepgraphy and maths stats. but I cannot find a school that does all 3 can u help in Oxfordshire or surrounding counties :confused::confused::confused:
Original post by AmyLH
I've picked it for next year because I liked the look of the syllabus and I really enjoyed some of the topics that I've already done briefly in GCSE Geography.

But I haven't really heard or seen anything about it on here so I'm just wondering, is it a respected subject? & how do you find the course - difficult/interesting ect. I'll give rep as much as I can :biggrin:

(The exam board is WJEC)

I did the whole geology A level and found it interesting in some parts but boring in others.
AS i mostly found very interesting as it was studying natural disasters and the properties or rocks and if something is interesting to learn it is often easy to remember. I wasn't keen on the coursework at all though, although I don't like coursework anyway. The exams are fairly straight forward and the best way to perform well in them is to do past papers. First time I sat GL1 I did without revision and past papers I got 74b, whereas with past papers I got 91a, so yes, past papers are imperative. Also for G2 if you become familiar with most of the essays but memories 1 or 2 there is a pretty high chance the one you memorized may come up and you will probably score a high mark :smile:
For A2 the course become a lot harder in my opinion, I did geological evolution of GB and Glaciation, which is a lot to remember, so like I said in the last paragraph, I loosely remembered all of the evolution of GB and memorized one specific essay and that one came up (for the second year running :biggrin:). G4 is really challenging and requires a lot of work, but as long as you put it in there is no reason you can't perform well on the paper.
Personally, for AS I got 210/300 B, then resat the coursework for G2 and G1, worked my socks off for A2 and managed to get an A overall (AS: 237/A2: 243) :smile:
Best of luck :biggrin:
Also I have some marked essays for the Evolution of GB which I will happily email you if you like ?
Reply 16
Avatar for AmyLH
AmyLH
OP
10
Original post by DavidYorkshireFTW
I did the whole geology A level and found it interesting in some parts but boring in others.
AS i mostly found very interesting as it was studying natural disasters and the properties or rocks and if something is interesting to learn it is often easy to remember. I wasn't keen on the coursework at all though, although I don't like coursework anyway. The exams are fairly straight forward and the best way to perform well in them is to do past papers. First time I sat GL1 I did without revision and past papers I got 74b, whereas with past papers I got 91a, so yes, past papers are imperative. Also for G2 if you become familiar with most of the essays but memories 1 or 2 there is a pretty high chance the one you memorized may come up and you will probably score a high mark :smile:
For A2 the course become a lot harder in my opinion, I did geological evolution of GB and Glaciation, which is a lot to remember, so like I said in the last paragraph, I loosely remembered all of the evolution of GB and memorized one specific essay and that one came up (for the second year running :biggrin:). G4 is really challenging and requires a lot of work, but as long as you put it in there is no reason you can't perform well on the paper.
Personally, for AS I got 210/300 B, then resat the coursework for G2 and G1, worked my socks off for A2 and managed to get an A overall (AS: 237/A2: 243) :smile:
Best of luck :biggrin:
Also I have some marked essays for the Evolution of GB which I will happily email you if you like ?


This thread is from 2 years ago :tongue: The person above you bumped it :smile:
Original post by AmyLH
This thread is from 2 years ago :tongue: The person above you bumped it :smile:

I never pay any attention to the thread dates, although I should start :L
I suppose this prompts the question, how did you do ?
:smile:
Reply 18
Avatar for AmyLH
AmyLH
OP
10
Original post by DavidYorkshireFTW
I never pay any attention to the thread dates, although I should start :L
I suppose this prompts the question, how did you do ?
:smile:


Got an A at AS then dropped it 'cause I hated it so much :tongue:
Original post by AmyLH
Got an A at AS then dropped it 'cause I hated it so much :tongue:

Well done, and fair enough :smile:

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