Catherine Owen, President of the Geographical Association 

My presidential theme for the Geographical Association in 2025/26 is ‘Geography makes a Difference’. It’s certainly the case that the OCR Entry Level Geography qualification makes a difference to some of my students, and in this blog I’ll share my experience of teaching both qualifications and how my students benefit.

How I teach Entry Level Geography

I teach in an 11-18 comprehensive school in Somerset with great diversity in terms of students’ socio-economic backgrounds and abilities. Each year we keep a close eye on our GCSE geography classes to see if there are students who are struggling to cope with the course. Most years we identify a couple of students who may not achieve a grade 1 at GCSE and would benefit from a confidence boost. In these cases we dual enter for GCSE and Entry Level. 

The examined content for the Entry Level course is covered in the GCSE Geography lessons which students are already attending. There are two non-examined elements of the Entry Level course, which the identified students cover with a learning support assistant (LSA) in 4-6 lessons when they are extracted from the GCSE class.

Dynamic World

The Dynamic World component is assessed through an exam and consists of three topics: 

• Our World 
• Destructive World 
• Resourceful World 

As mentioned, my students cover these topics within their GCSE lessons, but they could easily be taught to an Entry Level class in a different setting. 

For the ‘Our World’ topic students need to consider the population of their local place, characteristics and issues in a chosen UK city and then population and urban issues on a global scale. Starting with the familiar and moving to the unfamiliar, with a change in the scale being studied, is an ideal approach for students who may find the less tangible elements of geography tricky. 

Students study tectonic and flooding hazards in the ‘Destructive World’ topic, while ‘Resourceful World’ focuses on tropical rainforests and food resources.

Fieldwork Notebook

The second component of the course is the Fieldwork Notebook. My students carry out fieldwork for their GCSE course, so I simplify the title one of these fieldwork investigations for the entry level Fieldwork Notebook. The GCSE investigation is ‘Is there evidence of longshore drift on Monmouth beach?’ whereas for entry level it is ‘Are the two ends of Monmouth beach different?’ 

I provide my students with a template for the Fieldwork Notebook with headings for introduction, data collection, data presentation, conclusion and evaluation. They then produce their Fieldwork Notebook with support from the LSA (who also takes part in the field visit to Monmouth beach). 

When I have had students who didn’t participate in the GCSE fieldwork days they have completed a piece of fieldwork on the school site, looking at waste that is produced and how it is dealt with, with support from our wonderful site and kitchen teams.

Personal Project

The final component is the Personal Project, which can be based on any part of the specification. My students love the ‘Destructive World’ topic, so produce a slide presentation answering the question ‘Are all volcanoes the same?’ Again, I provide a template with titles and they are supported by the LSA in completing this project. Students enjoy this project so much that it can be difficult to get them to stop working on it!

Assessment

The Dynamic World component is assessed by a 1 hour exam which can be taken at any time. There are two alternative exam papers which you can download from Teach Cambridge, the secure OCR website, so you could use one as a mock exam and one for the real thing. In our school the LSA also supervises the exam. 

I mark all three components of the course on the interactive candidate coversheet and my marking is moderated by a colleague. As our cohort is so small, all work is sent to OCR electronically for moderation, along with supporting paperwork.

In conclusion

Working on the Entry Level Fieldwork Notebook and Personal Project is great for students’ confidence. When they have always struggled with GCSE content, they find themselves working at a different level, where they can find success. The Fieldwork Notebook also helps those who are also entered for the GCSE prepare for the exam questions on fieldwork. 

We celebrate the work produced, showing them to members of the leadership team and phoning home to let parents and carers know how well the students have done. 

The Entry Level course makes a real difference to these geography students. It isn’t only a back up plan in case they don’t pass the GCSE, it is a course which develops their understanding of the world and gives them a chance to shine.

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About the author

Catherine Owen is Head of Geography at The King Alfred School, an academy in Somerset. She has been teaching for over 30 years and is President of the Geographical Association in 2025/26. Her Presidential Theme is ‘Geography makes a Difference’ as she is keen to explore how geography can make a difference to young people by developing their geospatial and green skills, supporting disadvantaged students in learning more about the world and providing a safe space to talk about the uncertain future.