Summary of "AQA Geography Paper 3 Predictions 2026"

Main ideas / lessons conveyed (AQA Geography Unit 3: Paper 3, 11 June 2026)

• The speaker provides predictions, not certainties, based on:
  • Reviewing AQA papers from the last eight years
  • Identifying what has appeared vs. what seems absent and could be due to come up
• The exam is structured into two sections:
  • Section A: Issue evaluation based on a resource booklet about reservoir development (given by teachers)
  • Section B: Fieldwork questions (including both familiar and unfamiliar fieldwork)

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Methodology / what students should know (detailed checklist)

A) Fieldwork section (focus: unfamiliar + your own fieldwork)

The speaker says questions may test both:

• Unfamiliar fieldwork: scenarios you didn’t do (e.g., from other schools)
• Your own fieldwork: what your school did (often split into:
  • Human geography fieldwork days
  • Physical geography fieldwork days)

1) Geographical theory behind your investigation

Students must know the theory/concepts underpinning their topic, e.g.:

• Wooden groins effectiveness → longshore drift and sediment movement
• Urban regeneration effectiveness → urban decline, de-industrialization, regeneration

2) Risk assessment linked to the fieldwork location

Students should be able to:

• State risks that match the environment (coastline/river vs busy urban area, etc.)
• Describe actions taken to reduce those risks

Examples of area-specific risks mentioned:

• Coastline/river → danger from water
• Busy urban area → getting lost, traffic/public transport risks, and (rare) terrorism risk

3) Primary vs secondary data (definitions)

• Primary data: collected by students directly in the field
• Secondary data: collected by someone else; used to support/strengthen the investigation

4) Sampling methods and their pros/cons

Students must know different sampling strategies and evaluate strengths/weaknesses, including:

• Systematic sampling
  • data collected at regular intervals
  • commonly used along coastlines and rivers
• Random sampling
  • sites chosen without an obvious pattern
  • sites selected randomly within an area

5) Data collection methods + justification

Students should know typical methods and—crucially—justify them in terms of purpose.

Examples of methods mentioned:

• Questionnaires
• Pedestrian counts
• Traffic counts
• Measuring river depth
• Measuring groin height (coastline)

Justification expectations:

• Explain what each method tells you (e.g., why count people for regeneration)
• Explain why physical measures (e.g., river depth) are relevant to the aim

6) Results: describe, explain, and link datasets

Students may be asked:

• What the data showed (describe trends)
• Possible reasons behind trends (explain why patterns occur)
• How to link different datasets, e.g.:
  • pedestrian count ↔ traffic count may show a positive correlation
• Identify outliers / data that don’t fit the pattern and explain possible causes:
  • human error, or
  • geographical reasons

7) Conclusions linked to the original aim

Students should:

• Present conclusions clearly linked back to the investigation aim
• Address “effectiveness” directly (often yes/no):
  • Was regeneration effective? Consider social, economic, environmental outcomes
  • Were groins effective at stopping longshore drift? Provide reasons based on evidence

8) Limitations: problems affecting reliability

Students should discuss:

• human error
• equipment limitations / lack of scientific tools
• limited time → shallow/narrow data coverage
• limited variety of methods → small set of measurements

Reliability framing the speaker recommends:

• Conclude with a balanced reliability judgement, usually starting with:
  • “to some extent…”
• Explain why results are somewhat reliable, and why they aren’t fully reliable.

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B) Fieldwork skills section (maps, illustrations, graphs, statistics)

The speaker predicts questions requiring interpretation and sometimes completion.

1) Cartographic/map skills

Students may need to work with:

• maps at different scales (large/local/global)
• atlas maps; identifying locations and physical/human patterns
• Ordnance Survey maps (grid lines, scale, key)

Specific skill called out:

• Reading 4-figure and 6-figure grid references
  • If unsure, practice with the teacher
  • The speaker says these may be worth few marks (e.g., ~1), but still important.

2) Photo + map/illustration integration

Students may be asked to:

• compare photographs with maps
• use both together
• draw a field sketch from a photograph

3) Graphical and statistical skills

Students may need:

• to create/complete graphs (bar charts, pie charts, etc.)
• statistical calculations:
  • mean
  • mode
  • range

The speaker suggests using geography teacher and math teacher help.

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Issue evaluation section (resource booklet: reservoir development)

1) How to prepare using the resource booklet

• The booklet was released about half a term earlier.
• Students should have annotated it and practiced questions from it.
• The speaker encourages watching another video on the channel that breaks it down section-by-section.

2) Likely topics/questions within the booklet (as described)

Likely question areas by page:

Page 1: rainfall distribution + effective rainfall

• Identify which UK regions have high vs low rainfall
• Use map data to support statements
• Understand effective rainfall:
  • rainfall available for water use/supply, not all rainfall

Seasonal water demand + explanation

• Seasonal demand pattern: higher demand in summer
• Specifically more demand in summer evenings (garden watering)
• Expected “why” explanation: population increase, leading to:
  • more crop/water needs
  • more industrial water use
  • more domestic water use (HIC → appliances like washing machines)

Climate change impacts

• Climate change → more problems
• Likely to be asked what problems (e.g., water supply pressures)

Quotes and significance of water-related issues

• Questions may involve quoting a spokesperson from the Environmental Agency
• “How significant is water pollution?”:
  • water may exist, but if polluted/untreated, it can’t be used → reduces effective supply

Page 3: sustainable household water use

• Illustration showing household water-saving features
• Students should list at least three examples of more sustainable practices

Page 4: seven strategies for a sustainable water future

• Students should know the strategies
• Students should identify which strategies are currently used in the UK

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3) Page 5 and final question: reservoir development (yes/no + balanced argument)

The speaker predicts the final question will ask essentially:

• Should this reservoir development go ahead? (yes/no)

Suggested structure for a high-mark response (especially for a “9-mark” answer):

• Part 1: “Yes” reasons
  • benefits for:
    • people
    • economy
    • environment
• Part 2: “However…” limitations
  • say it’s not perfect and then argue why, including:
    • not good for people
    • not good for economy
    • not good for the environment
• Conclusion
  • summarize the balanced judgement

Additional expected geographical skill:

• For the OS map in the booklet:
  • understand key, scale, and read 4- and 6-figure grid references

The speaker references another “other video” as important preparation for the final question.

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Speakers / sources featured

• Primary speaker: The YouTube video presenter (unnamed in the subtitles)
• Source mentioned inside content: Environmental Agency (spokesperson quotes referenced)
• Referenced organization: AQA (exam board)

Category

Educational

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