Geography

Overview:

Our curriculum aims to inspire a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. 

We believe our curriculum equips students with the knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.

Along the journey, students will hopefully consolidate and extend their knowledge of the world’s major countries and their physical and human features, understanding how geographical processes interact to create distinctive human and physical landscapes that change over time. 

Key Stage 3

Key drivers of Key Stage 3 Geography are the following:

• To nurture a lifelong want and enthusiasm in finding out more, and making sense of the amazing, beautiful, infinite, complex world that we live in. 

• A commitment to creating a geographic learning journey that allows every student to make progress by participating fully in the enjoyment and challenge of our ever-changing world. 

• To accurately plan, implement and deliver the core knowledge and skills needed to allow for mastery in Geography. 

• An entitlement for all students to participate in real world outside the classroom learning by providing fieldwork opportunities at all key stages

Our Geography curriculum encourages students to be able to: 

• Confidently think, speak, write and act geographically.

• Be an active participant and investigator.

• Have a broad and deep understanding of locational contexts. 

• Understand the importance of scale, from local to the global.

• Be able to extend from the familiar and concrete to the unfamiliar and abstract.

• Have the ability to confidently analyse a range of sources. 

• Make sense of the world by organising and linking information and ideas about people, places, processes and environment. 

• Form valid judgements, and link these to geographic theories and processes.

• Be able to plan and undertake independent enquiry. 

• Formulate arguments that synthesise and evaluate material.

Year 7 units of study include a focus on the key concepts of:

• What is Geography

• Raging Rivers

• Settlement and Urban Issues

• Natural Resources in Crisis

• Hot Environments

• Enquiry through Fieldwork

Year 8 units of study include a focus on the key concepts of:

• The UK

• Ecosystems

• People on the Move

• The Coastal World

• Weather and Its Impact

• Enquiry through Fieldwork

Year 9 units of study include a focus on the key concepts of:

• The Developmental Gap

• Explosive Earth

• Climate Change & Climate Hazards 

• UK Extreme Weather

• Life in the UK in the 2020s

Key Stage 4

Key Stage 4 Geography has been based upon a balanced framework of physical and human geography. It allows students to investigate the link between the two themes, and approach and examine the battles between the man-made and natural worlds.

At GCSE students build upon and reinforce the sequence of learning from their Key Stage 3 studies. Our curriculum follows the AQA GCSE (9-1) Geography qualification.

Students will build on their key stage 3 knowledge and skills to be able to:  

• “Know geographical material” - in order to develop and extend their knowledge of locations, places, environments and processes, and of different scales including global; and of social, political and cultural contexts. (E.g. Y7 - Geographical skills, Raging Rivers, Y8 - The UK, Ecosystems - Tropical Rainforests, Y9 - Explosive Earth, Climate Change & Climatic Hazards).

• “Think like a geographer” by gaining an understanding of the interactions between people and environments, change in places and processes over space and time. (E.g. Y7 - Hot Environments, Raging Rivers, Y8 - People on the Move, The Coastal World Y9 - The Development Gap, Life in the UK in the 2020s).

• “Study like a geographer” to develop and extend their competence in a range of skills including those used in fieldwork, developing their competence in applying sound enquiry and investigative approaches to questions and hypotheses. (E.g. Y7 - Geographical skills, fieldwork, Y8 - Fieldwork).

• “Application of geography” to apply geographical knowledge, understanding, skills and approaches appropriately and creatively to real world contexts, including fieldwork, current affairs, situations and issues; and develop well-evidenced arguments drawing on their geographical knowledge and understanding. (KS3 - across all units of study). 

During the two years students will:

• Travel the world from their classroom, exploring case studies in the United Kingdom (UK), higher income countries (HICs), newly emerging economies (NEEs) and lower income countries (LICs). 

• Study topics that include climate change, poverty, deprivation, global shifts in economic power and the challenge of sustainable resource use. 

• Be encouraged to understand their role in society, by considering different viewpoints, values and attitudes.

Finally, the GCSE exams in Geography will include questions that will allow students to demonstrate their ability to: draw together their knowledge, understanding and skills from across the full course of study.

There will be THREE exam papers for students to sit:

• Paper 1 - Living with the Physical Environment - 1 hour 30 minutes - 88 marks - 35% of overall grade.

• Paper 2 - Challenges in the Human Environment - 1 hour 30 minutes - 88 marks - 35% of overall grade.

• Paper 3 - Geographical Applications - 1 hour 30 minutes - 76 marks - 30% of overall grade.