Geography

Intent

Our curriculum aims to inspire students with a love of Geography and a desire to learn more about the changing World around them, with an understanding of the World in which they live. In addition, we want our students to become ambassadors for environmental improvement and change.

Introduction

Geography is a subject dedicated to studying the lands, the features, the people, and the phenomena of the Earth. The Geography department aims to help our students understand the changing world around them. We want our students to develop the skills they need to help them in doing this.

Geography is taught for the equivalent of two (50 Minute) lessons in Years 7, 8 and 9. At KS4, Geography is taught in three weekly lessons over Years 10 and 11. Geography is taught in mixed-ability groups. There are two field trips at KS4. An Urban Geography field trip takes place in the middle of Year 10, and a Physical Geography field trip occurs at the start of Year 11. At KS3, Y8 go on a field trip to Malham in the Yorkshire Dales. A residential trip to Iceland is also offered to GCSE Geography students and then to other students. The nature of Geography means that the content of schemes of work and lesson plans are updated and changed regularly so that we can react quickly to significant world events. We aim to provide our pupils with a rich, varied, engaging curriculum.

Year 7 pupils begin the year with an introductory unit called Plastic & Pollution. They then do a unit that focuses on the Map Skills they need to be successful in Geography. The third unit is an introduction to Global Warming. They then study urbanisation and sustainable cities. They will then study a unit about Water Resources. Finally, Year 7 will study a unit about Globalisation. These units are designed to provide a good foundation for the rest of KS3 Geography and beyond.

Year 8 starts with a unit studying Earthquake Hazards, including an assessment relating to a recent earthquake. They also study China, Weather & Climate, and a penultimate unit about Limestone Scenery in the North of England (which forms the basis for their main field trip in KS3). The last unit they study is Russia.

Year 9 begins with a unit that includes a mixture of lessons & topics about Development. The second unit is a study of rainforests and deserts around the world. Then there are units about Geographical Issues making the news and tourism.

At KS4, Geography is a subject that students can opt to take. Geography is a successful and popular subject at KS4. There are three lessons a week for GCSE. Students in Y10 and Y11 follow GCSE AQA Geography. This includes units about ‘The Challenge of Natural Hazards’, ‘Physical Landscapes in the UK’, ‘The Changing Economic World’, ‘The Living World’, ‘The Challenge of Resource Management’ and ‘Urban Issues & Challenges’. There is no Controlled Assessment in this syllabus, but there is instead a third exam paper about fieldwork skills and also includes a problem-solving/decision-making exercise.

The department offers a variety of extra-curricular activities, including a four-day trip to Iceland. As previously mentioned, the department's main field trip is a day trip to Malham in the Yorkshire Dales in Year 8. In addition, at KS4, fieldwork takes place in Manchester & Liverpool, Rivington and sometimes in Derbyshire. There are further opportunities to participate in fieldwork, such as trips to the Lake District to learn about tourism in Bowness and, sometimes, a residential trip to Dorset.