AVAILABLE AT STANDARD LEVEL ONLY

Environmental Systems & Societies combines the skills from Biology and Geography, but also includes Economics and Philosophy. Students do not need to have a GCSE in Biology or Geography to do the course, although both are beneficial.

The course recognises that to understand the environmental issues of the 21st century and suggest suitable management solutions, both human and environmental aspects must be studied. Students not only investigate the issues facing the complexities of our planet, but also the actions required for the fair and sustainable use of shared resources.

course content 

Students develop a wide range of skills during the course including practical skills, use of statistics, interpreting, analysing and evaluating information, graphical skills, working systematically, considering opinions and values and independent thinking whilst developing a scientific and ethical understanding of environmental issues and sustainability.

The course is only studied at Standard level and is a transdisciplinary* subject i.e. Group 3 or 4.

The topics are:

Standard level
Topic 1 Foundation 1.1 Perspectives 1.2 Systems 1.3 Sustainability Topic 2 Ecology Topic 3 Biodiversity and conservation	Topic 4 Water Topic 5 Land Topic 6 Atmosphere and climate change Topic 7 Natural resources Topic 8 Human populations and urban systems
Practical scheme of work Practical work	Collaborative sciences project Scientific investigation

ASSESSMENT OUTLINE 

*TRANSDISCIPLINARY

Environmental Systems is a transdisciplinary subject in that it fulfils the subject requirements for group 3 and group 4. Students taking this subject can have greater flexibility in their subject choices for their Diploma. e.g. a student may choose: Group 1 (English A1), Group 2 (languages; 3 levels available), Group 3/4 Environmental Systems, Group 5 Maths (three levels available). Choosing Environmental Systems then allows the student their remaining choices from any of the other subject Groups, e.g. two Science subjects, two Arts subjects, etc.

Group 4 Project

The group 4 project is an interdisciplinary activity in which all Diploma Programme science students must participate. The intention is that students from the different group 4 subjects analyse a common topic or problem suggested by the science department. The Group 4 Project typically takes 10 hours of timetabled time and results in a presentation of findings and self-reflection on your contribution to the process. The exercise should be a collaborative experience where the emphasis is on the processes involved in scientific investigation rather than the products of such investigation.