GEOGRAPHY GCSE COURSEWORK

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GEOGRAPHY GCSE COURSEWORK
AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE IMPACT OF RECREATION
AND TOURISM ON LEITH HILL.
Why coursework? It is worth 40 marks and 20 of
your final grade. It gets you outdoors, getting
muddy and collecting your own data. It allows you
to really show off your geographical skills. It
enables you to get a really high mark if you keep
to the deadlines and listen carefully to the
advice given to you by your teacher.
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WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE PLANNING TO DO?
This is what the National Trust says about Leith
Hill The management of Leith Hill, much of
which is an SSSI, requires sensitivity and
awareness. The area around the tower is managed
as an amenity area for picnicking and games.
Most erosion, therefore, tends to be concentrated
here, although horse riders and mountain bikers
may cause damage if they stray off the prescribed
paths. How could we use this quote to shape our
coursework?
Hypotheses are predictions which you will test.
In groups you will be collecting data to test two
hypotheses. Hypothesis 1 The impact of
recreation and tourism on Leith Hill is greatest
around the tower. Hypothesis 2 Leith Hill is
being managed effectively and sustainably. You
will spend the morning on Leith Hill collecting
data on the impact of tourism and the current
management and then in the afternoon you will go
to Box Hill to see how that area is managed.
This should give you some ideas for your own
management plan. When we get back you will
present your data and write up your coursework.
Write these down!
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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Deadline for introduction and methodology Friday
15th June
Fieldtrip to Leith Hill and Box Hill Monday 18th
June
Deadline for hypothesis 1 Friday 29th June
Deadline for full rough draft Wednesday 11th
July We will check it and give it back during
the last week of term.
Final deadline all finished, corrections made
etc. First lesson back after holidays
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Some background information
Why Leith Hill?
Write this down!
Leith Hill is called a honeypot site which
means it attracts lots of people like to bees
to honey! Leith Hill has around 250,000 visitors
each year.
Use your knowledge and these photos to explain
why it is so popular.
Interesting Fact If you look east from the top
of Leith Hill Tower the next highest point is the
Ural Mountains.
On a clear day and using the telescope provided,
St. Pauls Cathedral, The London Eye and Big Ben
clock tower can be seen. To the south you can see
over the Weald to the South Downs ridge and the
English Channel.
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THE STRUCTURE OF YOUR COURSEWORK

• Geography coursework is a little bit like writing
  up a science experiment.
• You should divide your coursework into the
  following sections
• Introduction aim, location, geographical
  information
• Hypotheses
• Methodology
• Presentation and analysis of results for both
  hypotheses
• Conclusion
• Limitations
• Appendix

These parts will be done before we go out on the
fieldtrip.
You will be given a guide to help you with each
section.
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PLANNING YOUR COURSEWORK
Hypothesis 1 The impact of recreation and
tourism on Leith Hill is greatest around the
tower.
To get high marks in this coursework you need to
show planning and initiative i.e. use your own
ideas.
Your first main task

• In your groups you are going to need to plan how
  you will collect your data.
• To do this you should complete the planning sheet
  in as much detail as possible and hand it in to
  your teacher.
• You should also design your own data collection
  tables to fill in on the fieldtrip.

The next slide gives you some ideas to get you
started.
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ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF TOURISM ON LEITH HILL
Draw this in your books and try to explain as
many different methods for proving this
hypothesis as you can.
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ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF TOURISM ON LEITH HILL
How many did you think of?
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ONE OTHER THING TO THINK ABOUT - SAMPLING
Once you have decided how you will collect your
data, you need to decide where. Sampling is
needed because you cannot measure the whole path.
Therefore you will take a snapshot at
different stages along it. There are different
types of sampling but you are going to use
systematic sampling. This is where you collect
your data at regular intervals along the path
i.e. every 200m
Now use the coursework planning sheet to plan
your data collection. Once you have done that,
you need to design and make your data collection
sheets.
We will come round and help you but the ideas
need to be yours.
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PLANNING YOUR COURSEWORK PART TWO
Hypothesis 2 Leith Hill is being managed
effectively and sustainably.
We will organise how you will collect this
information. On Leith Hill You will need to take
photos or sketch all the different types of
management you see. You will also need to take
notes from the talk given by the National Trust
warden for Leith Hill. On Box Hill You will
again need to take photos and notes from the talk
given by the warden there. You will also complete
an assessment on each type of management by
filling in a scoring table.
We will provide the data collection sheets for
this section on the day.
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WHAT NOW?
After you have planned how you are going to
collect your data, you need to write the
introduction, hypotheses and methodology sections
of your coursework. Use the guide and the
information sheet from the National Trust to help
you do this.
Remember to keep it to the point and concise.
These sections should only be about 4 pages in
total.