AQA papers at a glance
| Paper | Content | Time and marks | Weighting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: Living with the physical environment | A: natural hazards (33 marks); B: the living world (25); C: two of coasts, rivers and glacial landscapes (30) | 1 hour 30 minutes, 88 marks incl. 3 SPaG | 35% |
| Paper 2: Challenges in the human environment | A: urban issues (33 marks); B: changing economic world (30); C: resource management plus one of food, water or energy (25) | 1 hour 30 minutes, 88 marks incl. 3 SPaG | 35% |
| Paper 3: Geographical applications | A: issue evaluation from the pre-release booklet (37 marks); B: fieldwork (39) | 1 hour 30 minutes, 76 marks incl. 6 SPaG | 30% |
Paper 3: the pre-release and fieldwork
- AQA releases a resources booklet 12 weeks before Paper 3. For summer 2027 that is around mid-March. Your teacher works through it with you; in the exam you get a clean copy, so you cannot take notes in.
- Section A asks you to analyse the resources, weigh up viewpoints and make a justified decision about an issue, usually ending in a 9-mark answer.
- Section B tests fieldwork. You must have completed two enquiries in contrasting environments outside the classroom and school grounds, covering physical and human geography. Questions ask about an unfamiliar fieldwork context and about your own two enquiries.
- Learn your enquiries as six stages: question and hypothesis, data collection and sampling, presentation, analysis, conclusions and evaluation.
How Edexcel and OCR compare
Pearson Edexcel Geography A and Geography B and OCR Geography A (Geographical Themes) and Geography B (Geography for Enquiring Minds) are also assessed by three written exams, with fieldwork tested in the papers and no tiers. The topics are broadly similar because all boards follow the same Department for Education subject content, but paper titles, case study choices and question styles differ, so always practise with your own board's past papers.
See where you stand in 10 minutes
Take the free GCSE Geography practice test. 15 questions, every answer explained.
Grades and grade boundaries
AQA adds your marks from all three papers to give a total out of 252, and grade boundaries are set on that total after every exam series. They change from year to year depending on how the papers performed, so there is no fixed mark for a grade 4 or a grade 9. Past boundaries are published by each board and are only a rough guide.
Grade 4 is a standard pass and grade 5 a strong pass. Because there are no tiers, every grade from 9 to 1 is available to every student. Results for summer 2027 are released on Thursday 19 August 2027. Practise with our GCSE Geography questions.
2027 exam dates
AQA has published these dates for GCSE Geography 8035 in the June 2027 series: Paper 1 on Tuesday 18 May 2027 (morning), Paper 2 on Wednesday 26 May 2027 (afternoon) and Paper 3 on Thursday 10 June 2027 (afternoon). The JCQ common timetable for GCSEs ends on 18 June 2027. Edexcel and OCR publish their own dates. There is no November resit series for GCSE Geography.
An 8-week revision plan
- Week 1: natural hazards: plate margins, tectonic case studies, tropical storms, UK weather and climate change.
- Week 2: the living world and your two physical landscape options. Practise explaining landform formation with sketches.
- Week 3: a timed Paper 1, marked with the mark scheme. Note which case study facts you could not recall.
- Week 4: urban issues (both city case studies) and the changing economic world (development measures, DTM, NEE case study, UK economy).
- Week 5: resource management and your food, water or energy option, then a timed Paper 2.
- Week 6: the pre-release booklet: key figures, stakeholders, options and your own justified decision.
- Week 7: fieldwork summaries for both enquiries and a skills drill (grid references, scale, statistics, graphs), then a timed Paper 3.
- Week 8: case study flashcards and 9-mark plans. Before each paper, review rather than learn new material.
Frequently asked questions
How many papers are there in GCSE Geography?
AQA has three papers, each 1 hour 30 minutes: Paper 1 and Paper 2 (88 marks each, 35%) and Paper 3 (76 marks, 30%). Edexcel and OCR also use three papers.
Is GCSE Geography tiered?
No. Everyone sits the same papers and all grades from 9 to 1 are available.
What is the Paper 3 pre-release?
A resources booklet AQA issues 12 weeks before Paper 3. It sets out an issue for Section A, and you get a clean copy in the exam.
Do I have to do fieldwork for GCSE Geography?
Yes. You must complete two enquiries in contrasting environments outside the classroom and school grounds, and you are examined on them in Paper 3. Private candidates need to arrange this too.
Can I use a calculator in GCSE Geography?
Yes. Bring a calculator and a ruler, as all papers include skills and statistics questions.
How are spelling and grammar marked in GCSE Geography?
AQA awards 12 SPaG marks in total: 3 on Paper 1, 3 on Paper 2 and 6 on Paper 3, attached to specified extended answers.
Official sources
- AQA GCSE Geography 8035: specification at a glance
- AQA GCSE Geography 8035: scheme of assessment
- AQA GCSE Geography 8035: key dates
- JCQ key dates for the June 2027 series
Practice tests for these exams
This guide is general information, checked November 2026, not official exam board guidance. Specifications and dates can change; confirm the details with your school or exam board.
