Fieldwork & Geographical Skills

Fieldwork and geographical skills together account for a substantial proportion of your GCSE Geography marks. AO3 (geographical skills) is worth 30% across all papers, and AO4 (fieldwork investigation) makes up 30% of Paper 3 alone. This lesson covers everything you need to know about the fieldwork requirements, the geographical skills tested across all three papers, and the specific techniques examiners expect you to use.

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AQA Fieldwork Requirements

AQA requires you to complete two pieces of fieldwork during your GCSE course:

1. One physical geography investigation (e.g. river study, coastal investigation, weather data collection)
2. One human geography investigation (e.g. urban land use survey, quality of life assessment, retail investigation)

You must have actually carried out this fieldwork. You will be asked specific questions about YOUR investigations in the exam — not about hypothetical ones.

Exam Tip: Revise your fieldwork notes thoroughly. If you cannot remember where you went, what you measured, or what your results showed, you will struggle with Paper 3 Section B. Make a detailed revision sheet for each investigation.

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What Examiners Ask About Your Fieldwork