AQA GCSE Geography (8035)
Exam structure at a glance for AQA GCSE Geography: every paper with its time, marks and weighting, plus tiers, practicals and the links you need.
- Board
- AQA
- Specification code
- 8035
- Tiers
- No tiers (one paper set for all)
- First teaching
- 2016
- Exam papers
- 3 · 4 h 30 min in total
- Last checked
- 2026-10-20
The national curriculum has no KS4 programme of study for geography (KS1-3 only).
Papers and weightings
| Paper | Time | Marks | Weight | What it is (our summary) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1: Living with the physical environment | 1 h 30 min | 88 +3 SPaG | 35% | Natural hazards, the living world, UK physical landscapes, skills. Section A 33 marks and B 25 marks (answer all); Section C 30 marks (two of three landscape questions). |
| Paper 2: Challenges in the human environment | 1 h 30 min | 88 +3 SPaG | 35% | Urban issues, changing economic world, resource management, skills. Section A 33 and B 30 marks (answer all); Section C 25 marks (Q3 plus one of food, water or energy). |
| Paper 3: Geographical applications | 1 h 30 min | 76 +6 SPaG | 30% | Section A issue evaluation (37 marks) using a pre-release resource booklet issued 12 weeks before; Section B fieldwork (39 marks). |
Times are exam lengths; weightings are shares of the whole GCSE. Summaries are in our own words.
Good to know
- Question types (our summary): Multiple choice, short answer, levels-of-response and extended prose.
- Pre-release material: Paper 3 resource booklet 12 weeks before the exam.
Key dates
Summer 2027 exam series
- Entries deadline: Sun, 21 February 2027
- First exam: Mon, 10 May 2027
- Last GCSE exam: Fri, 18 June 2027
- Contingency day: Wed, 23 June 2027
- GCSE results day: Thu, 19 August 2027 (from a provisional board timetable)
Sources: JCQ key dates June 2027 (final (JCQ key dates)); JCQ key dates and timetables; JCQ timetable commentary. Check each board's final timetable for paper dates. Last checked 2026-10-20.
Specification, past papers and grade boundaries
- AQA: Specification at a glance (board website)
- AQA: Past papers and mark schemes (board website)
- AQA: Grade boundaries (board website)
Facts checked against: aqa.org.uk.
More packs
Exam facts (paper names, times, marks, weightings, tiers, codes) are taken from each exam board's own specification pages and summarised in our own words; no specification text, papers or mark schemes are reproduced. Exam details checked against the board's specification on 2026-10-20. Always check the current specification on the board's website.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (Ofqual and DfE pages on GOV.UK). Classfern is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department for Education, Ofqual, JCQ, AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR or WJEC Eduqas.
Questions teachers ask
How long are the AQA GCSE Geography exams?
Paper 1: 1 h 30 min; Paper 2: 1 h 30 min; Paper 3: 1 h 30 min.