This subject update was first published on 6 March 2024. We've now published a helpful blog on accessibility in our geography exams – take a look on our website.

As part of our accessibility principles, we are improving the readability of our question papers for the following qualifications:

• GCSE Geography A (J383)
• GCSE Geography B (J384)

To support students, we are removing unnecessary ‘figure title’ words from the question stems, see the example below:

• ‘Look at Fig. 1 in the Resource Booklet, which shows a Geographical Information System (GIS) map showing earthquake hazard distribution’

For this question stem, we are removing the words ‘which shows a Geographical Information System (GIS) map showing earthquake hazard distribution’.

The figure titles are already provided in the resource booklet, so the question stem will instead read:

• ‘Look at Fig.1 in the Resource Booklet’

This change applies to GCSE Geography assessments taking place from the June 2024 series.

Amended sample assessment material (SAM)

To reflect this change to the question papers, we’ve amended our samples, for example:

• GCSE Geography A J383/01 – sample question paper
• GCSE Geography B J384/01 – sample question paper

You can view all the examples in the Assessment > Sample assessment materials section of the GCSE Geography qualification pages on our website.

You can also view and download the examples from the Assessment > Exams > Sample assessment materials section on Teach Cambridge.

Please share the examples of the new question paper layout with your GCSE Geography students.

If you have any queries about this update, please contact the Geography Subject Team on 01223 553998 or email us at geography@ocr.org.uk.

Qualifications

• Geography A (Geographical Themes) (9-1) - J383 (from 2016)
• Geography B (Geography for Enquiring Minds) (9-1) - J384 (from 2016)