Geography

Inspirational Quote

“The study of geography is about more than just memorizing places on a map. It’s about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents. And in the end, it’s about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together.”
Barack Obama

Curriculum Intent

Our Geography curriculum aims to provide pupils with knowledge and competence in geographical enquiry by exploring how human cultures interact with the environment in a wide range of places. We aim to empower pupils to take an active role in exploring sustainable solutions to major global issues at a variety of scales.

Key Stage 3 Curriculum

In Year 7 pupils begin their Geography journey by studying “The World Around Me” investigating the major continents, our own country and developing their geographical skills. They also study hydrological processes and global tourism.
In Year 8 pupils begin with Demography – investigating global population growth. They also study plate tectonics, looking at the restless nature of the Earth’s interior, energy and resources – a huge issue currently facing mankind, and coastal processes where we give pupils the opportunity to visit Formby beach.
In Year 9 we begin by investigating a British obsession – Weather and Climate! We also explore the continent of Africa and introduce the concept of international development.

Key Stage 4 Curriculum

What will I study?

Changing Physical and Human Landscapes: you will learn about distinctive landscapes in the UK and how they were formed and may change over time. In the UK rivers are an important part of our landscape and you will study why rivers flood and how people try to manage this problem. As part of the option choices of this paper you may also study tectonic processes or coastal landscapes. You will also learn about changes in where people live in the UK. You will investigate changes in urban and rural areas and what this might mean in the future in both the UK and around the world. Think about the challenges we face in towns and cities for example -shops on UK high streets are closing due to internet shopping and out of town shopping centres. What does the future hold for the high street in your town?

Environmental and Development Issues: you will learn about how natural environments are effected change due to human influence, weather events such as storms and climate change. What can we do to manage these environments sustainably?
You will investigate issues about development and resources. Why do inequalities exist between and within countries? What are the consequences of inequalities within societies? How might the UK government try to reduce inequalities in the future? The optional units in this section are on uneven social development and the impact of consumerism on environments.

FIELDWORK
As part of the GCSE, you will have the opportunity to undertake two fieldwork enquiries in two contrasting locations. Fieldwork is a fundamental part of developing geographical understanding of the real world.

HOW WILL I BE ASSESSED?
There are three exams at the end of Year 11 – Paper 1 is worth 35%, Paper 2 35% and Paper 3 30%.
These include a fieldwork paper that will test your ability to apply fieldwork skills in different contexts.

Key Stage 4 Curriculum Support Materials

https://www.eduqas.co.uk/qualifications/geography-gcse-a/#tab_keydocuments https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/examspecs/ztp2qt

Progression

The transferrable skills developed by studying geography are actively sought out by employers. There are a wealth of jobs that geographers can do spanning almost every sector! Most jobs have an element of Geography in them whether it be a doctor investigating the spread of a disease to an engineer designing products to cope with less demand for plastic.