GCSE and A Level Geography - November 2020 exam paper clarifications
06 January 2021
We have clarified some of the questions used in the recent November 2020 GCSE and A Level Geography exams, as we know many of you are likely to use these papers as mock exams for your students.
GCSE Geography B (J384)
In Component 01, we included two questions relating to flood hydrographs (questions 1b(i) and (ii)). We would like to reassure you that these questions require students to read two sets of data from the graph and so this is the skill that is being assessed - it is not about them having knowledge and understanding of hydrographs.
We are not suggesting that you would need to teach hydrographs as part of the Global Hazards or Distinctive Landscapes topics.
The mark schemes will be available on GCSE results day (11 February 2021) alongside the Examiners Report for this qualification. You can view further details on the results page of our website.
A Level Geography (H481)
In Component 01, we included a question relating to a glacial landform (question 2b(ii)). We decided to remove this question from the exam paper. Whilst it was correct geographically, the image of the landform used and the answer required was not a depositional feature as listed in the specification.
It is our key priority not to disadvantage candidates and so we have adjusted the mark scheme to reflect this. For your mock exam, we suggest either of the following two options:
- remove the one mark and adjust the total mark for the component or
- award all students one mark and leave the total for the component as the same (the approach taken in the mark scheme).
If you have any queries about this update, please call our Customer Support Centre on 01223 553998 or email geography@ocr.org.uk.
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