In this blog I am going to summarise the key points across different question types on Paper 2 - Challenges in the Human Environment.

As with last year, AQA has included exemplar answers with commentary highlighting both stronger and weaker responses. These are really useful for your own or departmental CPD.

Overall, the report is positive. The majority of questions were accessible across the ability range, attainment improved and students generally made good use of the 88 marks available. There were also plenty of examples of excellent place and case study knowledge.

However, one phrase from the report particularly stands out this year - 'the geography of anywhere'. Too many answers remained generic, relying on ideas such as tourism, jobs, money and the multiplier effect without adapting them sufficiently to the place or question.

MCQs

What was done well?

• Almost all students accurately used the graph in Q01.4.
• The great majority correctly identified an economic cause in Q02.10.
• The maths in Q03.2 caused few problems.
• Students were generally very successful at using keys to identify categories in the Resource Management options.

Areas for improvement

• The calculation in Q01.5 was less successful – percentages continue to cause problems for some students.
• Q02.3 had the lowest success rate, with some confusion over what counts as a service industry job.

Point marked questions

What was done well?

• Straightforward recall questions were generally answered successfully.
• Most skills questions were answered correctly when attempted.
• Students were generally able to accurately read information from maps and graphs.
• Many students understood the need to make a point and develop it when two marks were available.
• There was some good locational knowledge. For example, successful answers about London identified both its location and its importance in the wider world.

Areas for improvement

• Accuracy matters even on very short questions. Students sometimes made several statements but only one was correct.
• Read the exact focus of the question. For example, in a question about the death rate in Stage 2 of the DTM, some students wrote about birth rate or Stage 3 instead. Relevant DTM knowledge doesn't gain the mark if it doesn't answer the question.
• Percentages still need practice.
• Completing graphs and choropleth maps also caused some students to lose relatively straightforward AO4 marks.

4-mark questions

There were two 4-markers this year. Both tested AO2 and AO3, so students needed to use the figure and apply their geographical understanding. AQA notes that weaker responses often did one but not the other.

Question about opportunities associated with cultural diversity in urban areas (Q01.9)

Weaker answers...

• didn't make sufficient use of the figure
• copied information rather than interpreting it
• offered generic ideas that could apply to almost any city
• didn't explain how the opportunities arose.

Better answers...

• made clear use of the figure
• paraphrased and interpreted information rather than simply lifting it
• explained how opportunities developed
• linked information from the figure to their own case-study knowledge
• showed a clear understanding of the value of cultural diversity in urban areas.

This is a good example of the importance of integrating the resource and own knowledge, rather than writing about them as two separate things.

Question about the UK's political and trade relationships (Q02.6) - there was some really impressive topical geography here! Students referred to conflict in Ukraine and Iran, the UK's relationship with the EU and Commonwealth, tariffs, trade blocs and US trade policy.

Better answers...

• applied information from the figure
• focused specifically on the UK's political and trade relationships
• developed the impact of these relationships
• brought in relevant contemporary geographical knowledge to support their explanation.

This is a useful reminder of the value of keeping students engaged with geography beyond the specification.

6-mark questions

Section A

Question about the challenges of managing air quality in LIC/NEE cities (Q01.7) - students generally understood the issues, often referring to factors such as rapid population growth and a lack of money.

Weaker answers...

• focused on the impacts of poor air quality rather than the challenge of managing it
• didn't make enough use of the figure
• described environmental problems without explaining why they were difficult to manage.

Better answers...

• made use of the figure
• brought in their own knowledge
• used detailed case-study information
• linked environmental problems to the actual challenge of management.

Again, the wording of the question matters. Knowing lots about air pollution isn't enough if the question is asking why it is difficult to manage.

Section C

Question about why the UK needs to develop renewable energy sources (Q03.5) - there was some good knowledge here, particularly around the declining availability of non-renewables and the environmental consequences of fossil-fuel use.

Weaker answers...

• missed opportunities to use examples
• didn't explain why the UK specifically is suitable for different renewable sources
• sometimes lost the UK focus altogether
• rarely used the important concept of energy security.

Better answers...

• explained the declining availability of fossil fuels
• considered environmental pressures and net zero
• recognised the importance of energy security
• linked recent political events to the increasing urgency of renewable energy
• used examples such as North Sea oil and the Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm.

Resource Management options (Q04.5, Q05.5 and Q06.5)

These questions required students to combine the figure with their own geographical understanding.

Weaker answers...

• only used the figure or their own example, limiting access to the higher level
• simply reworded information from the figure
• asserted that something was “sustainable” without explaining why
• struggled to connect evidence to the different dimensions of sustainability.

Better answers...

• used the figure and their own knowledge together
• selected relevant case-study material
• adapted their knowledge to the exact question
• explained rather than asserted sustainability
• considered the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainability.

This last point is worth emphasising - AQA specifically recommends teaching sustainability as a multi-dimensional concept, rather than allowing students to equate 'sustainable' with simply 'good for the environment'.

9-mark questions

These always test AO1, AO2 and AO3, with an additional 3 SPaG marks on the Section A question.

Section A (+3 SPaG)

Question about urban change in a named UK city (Q01.10) - there was a pleasing range of UK cities used, and some excellent responses used gentrification as part of their evaluation. Students using the Olympic Park appeared to perform particularly well.

Weaker answers...

• became fixated on tourism as the solution to urban problems
• relied on generic statements about “tourism, jobs and money”
• gave ideas that could just as easily have applied to a LIC/NEE city
• repeated information from the figure without developing it
• produced the dreaded “geography of anywhere”
• lacked clear evaluation.

Better answers...

• used detailed knowledge of their named UK city
• understood the processes operating specifically in UK urban areas
• integrated evidence from the figure with their case-study knowledge
• evaluated different changes or strategies
• made clear and supported judgements.

AQA's comment about 'the geography of anywhere' is probably one of the most useful phrases in the whole report. Students might know that tourism creates jobs, for example, but without explaining where, how, for whom and with what consequences, it remains a generic statement rather than strong geographical knowledge.

Section B

Question about the impacts of a TNC on a host country (Q02.11) - this was generally answered well and seemed accessible to students. There was lots of detailed case-study knowledge, with Shell in Nigeria and Unilever in India dominating responses.

Weaker answers...

• were generic
• simply repeated a rehearsed case-study answer
• used the figure without adding their own geographical understanding
• presented impacts without really evaluating them
• gave only implicit rather than explicit judgement.

Better answers...

• used accurate and detailed case-study knowledge
• made effective use of the figure
• considered issues such as poor pay and exploitation
• explained the impacts rather than simply stating them
• evaluated those impacts
• used the figure alongside case-study knowledge rather than treating them separately.

There's an important message here about rehearsed answers - knowing Shell in Nigeria in enormous detail doesn't automatically produce a Level 3 answer. Students still need to select the parts of that case study that answer the particular question and then use them to support evaluation.

Case studies - avoiding the 'geography of anywhere'

This deserves a final mention because it appears so frequently throughout the report. AQA says that although many students demonstrated excellent place knowledge, a significant number produced generic answers. The recurring reliance on 'tourism', 'jobs', 'money' and 'the multiplier effect', regardless of whether the context was a HIC or LIC/NEE, limited marks.

Their suggested structure is really simple and potentially very useful - Point → evidence → link

Students need to know detailed case studies, but then practise using that knowledge purposefully rather than simply describing everything they remember. So rather than 'Tourism creates jobs' we want students asking: What jobs? Where? Why have they been created? Who benefits? What geographical process does this demonstrate? And how does that answer this particular question?

Using figures - don't just copy them!

Another recurring message from this year's report is around AO3 - some students struggled to integrate figures into their answers. At one extreme, they simply lifted information from the resource. At the other, they ignored the figure completely and wrote everything they knew from their case study.

Neither approach is enough - AQA makes the point very clearly: repeating case-study information is AO1, while repeating the resource isn't application either.

Better responses...

• select relevant evidence
• paraphrase it
• infer something from it
• connect it to geographical understanding
• use it to support the argument being made.

In other words - figure + geographical understanding = application, rather than - figure paragraph + case-study paragraph = application

So, what are the big takeaways?

The recurring messages from the 2026 Paper 2 report are:

• Avoid the 'geography of anywhere' - specific places and processes matter.
• Use case studies purposefully rather than reproducing memorised answers.
• Integrate figures with own knowledge – don't treat them as two separate parts of an answer.
• Don't copy resources - paraphrase, infer, interpret and apply.
• Read the precise wording of the question, particularly words such as challenge, impact and significance.
• Differentiate between HIC and LIC/NEE contexts rather than applying the same generic processes everywhere.
• Keep practising the maths, particularly percentages and graph completion.
• Teach sustainability as environmental, social and economic, rather than simply environmental.
• Use precise geographical processes rather than vague statements such as 'tourism brings money'.
• Evaluate explicitly in 9-markers, including a justified final judgement.
• And keep some contemporary geography in the classroom - the references to geopolitics, energy and trade show how effectively students can use current geographical understanding when it is relevant.

Perhaps the biggest message from Paper 2 this year is that knowing a case study and applying a case study are not the same thing. Students clearly know plenty of geography. The next step is making sure they can select the right bit of that knowledge, combine it with the resource and adapt it to the exact demands of the question.

And hopefully, that means a little less 'geography of anywhere' in 2027!