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13 October 2022
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‘A level geography is a perfect complimentary course that can help bring together everything you’ve learnt in individual subjects.’
Ryan Ing
Why I value my A level in geography
I’m currently a research masters student in the department of geography at the University of Sheffield, conducting a summer placement with the GA. Before this, I did an undergraduate degree in Meteorology and Climate at the University of Reading and in October I will be starting a PhD at the University of Edinburgh, investigating the dynamics of marine-terminating glaciers in Greenland.
A level geography was not required for my undergraduate degree in Meteorology and Climate, with A level maths and physics being the only prerequisites. It has been nice to be back in a geography department during my masters, and my time at the GA has allowed me to reflect on my university experience and what geography means to me. This blog provides my personal perspective on why I value my A level in geography, how I use it and what parts I value most.
Despite all the numerical and data analysis skills developed during A level maths, physics, and my degree I still come back to my A level geography experience when it comes to interpreting data. After all the hard work going into modelling, analysing and visualising datasets, there comes a point where you need to interpret what your data means – qualitatively.
This is an important skill when it comes to generating the key findings of your research and presenting it to a wider audience. The time spent in A level geography discussing figures and the implications of the data to real life scenarios helped me develop these skills.
Making links across topics
The multi-dimensional nature of geography requires the bringing together of ideas from a vast array of disciplines. The experience of being able to relate different areas, groups of societies, impacts and causes has been useful in grounding what I’ve learnt in my degrees and why it’s important.
It’s also allowed me to be more open in realising how interconnected all research, subjects and issues are. As well as being a worthwhile subject on its own, A level geography is a perfect complimentary course that can help bring together everything you’ve learnt in individual subjects. Additionally, it allows for connections to be made to the real world, which leads onto my next point.
Relation to the ‘real world’
Subjects at school can sometimes feel quite isolated from the real world. Geography is one of the only subjects where you are actively learning what’s going on in the world around you and get the opportunity to discuss and debate your opinions about it. Being aware of geopolitical issues has been beneficial in setting the context of what I’ve learnt in my degree.
This year my master’s thesis involved modelling the future changes in the mass balance of the Juneau Icefield. Being aware of the problems that these changes will cause for surrounding populations is important for personal motivation but also justifying why the research is important.
Building confidence in debating your ideas
This is the aspect of A level geography I valued the most and is one that contributed to me becoming more interested and involved in the world around me. In Sixth Form we had a small class of around 6 people and most of the lesson was spent discussing ideas and concepts.
This is where geography was very different to my other A levels, where due to the style of content we were taught rather than discovered. Being able to debate and talk about topics in a comfortable, safe environment allowed me to build confidence in presenting my ideas, communicating my opinions and views, as well as making me a better listener, and understanding other people’s points of view.
Written by Ryan Ing, GA Intern & PhD student
©Ryan Ing and the Geographical Association, 2026
