Geography

We study geography to give pupils an understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes and knowledge of the diversity of people, places and natural and human environments. Geographical knowledge, understanding and skills provide the framework and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.

Geography’s etymology is from Greek - ‘to write about the world’ and the ability to speak and write about the world are central to our vision. Key to being able to do this is understanding how to structure and evidence arguments to support your point of view. 

We look to start by encouraging enquiry about geographical issues that affect us all from a local to national and world settings. We look to embed an understanding of geographical features and processes in order to empower students' understanding of changes happening around them, the impact of people on different environments and how we might engage with change in a positive way.

We are developing our teaching and learning model in line with the school philosophy and research related to effective learning. This has influenced our development of resources and continues to impact on our changes in curriculum design. New to this year is a shortening of units to allow topics to be revisited and developed later in the year or key stage. This allows students to embed their previous learning as it is drawn on repeatedly.

In designing our curriculum model we are aware of the interconnectedness of the topics delivered with other topics throughout the course. We hope to make these links explicit to students so they can develop schema which deepens their understanding and recall of knowledge.

General overview

Map skills and GIS

Map skills are introduced early in KS3 as part of the introduction to Geography. This includes the teaching of 4 and 6 figure references and use of Ordnance Survey maps. 

These are revisited throughout KS3 in short activities designed to remind and practice these skills. The use of Ordnance Survey maps plays an important part in the units on rivers and coasts both in KS3 and KS4 and is also used in the human landscape of the UK. 

GIS is used in our Brazil unit where layered maps are interrogated to study the changes in Tropical Rainforest coverage. We also use GIS to support our coastal fieldwork project prior to visiting Seaford.

Geography is taught in KS3 and as a GCSE subject in KS4

Key Information;

Exam board   -  Edexcel B

Course structure

3 examinations

Paper 1 1h30m Global Geographical Issues 37.5%

Paper 2 1h30m UK Geographical Issues 37.5%

Paper 3 1h30m People and Environment Issues - Making Geographical Decisions 25%

- KS3 number of lessons a week: 2

- KS4 number of lessons a week: 4

- Pupil grouping - Mixed ability

- Frequency and duration of homework for KS3 - Once a week 30 mins and KS4 - Once a week One hour

- Assessments for KS3 and KS4 - Towards the end of each unit of work - roughly once a half term

How can the parent help their child with your subject? 

Talk about geography in the news, where possible at the time they are studying that topic. Year 8 for example study weather in Autumn and you could discuss types of clouds, how rain happens or what the impacts of a big recent storm might be. They go on to study volcanoes and earthquakes. Look for these in the news and discuss.

What careers can this lead to?

Geography is an important facilitating subject leading to a wide range of careers as it develops strong research and analytical skills, which are highly regarded by many employers. Careers in architecture, environmental development, town planning and conservation are small selection from a long list.