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Geography

The Geography department seeks to guide and inspire all learners to achieve in geography through an engaging and challenging curriculum. A high-quality geography education should inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people.

Intent of the Geography Curriculum

Teaching should equip pupils with 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. As pupils progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human environments. By incorporating geographical skills, current issues and varying scale from local to global we are able to enthuse the young people we teach and develop a wide range of valuable transferable skills. The curriculum is based on the National Curriculum for Key Stage 3 Geography in terms of both content and concepts

Year 7

In year 7, Geography is taught to all students and involves studying a range of physical and human topics. Topics are centred around local and national scale geography with the UK making up the core backbone of the year 7 topics. Pupils focus on their local area and develop an understanding of the United Kingdom.  In the final topic of the year pupils begin to explore wider world geography by studying their continent of Europe. All topics are designed to include current in the news topics, issues and geographical skills.

Unit 1 –  The World and Me
Investigating geographical skills, the world and their local area.

  • Baseline assessment to establish prior knowledge
  • World mapping of continents and oceans
  • Grid references – Using local maps
  • Scale – Using Local area maps
  • Contours and relief using OS maps
  • Field sketch of the local area

Unit 2 – The United Kingdom
Introducing pupils to the UK – Their island home.

  • UK characteristics – mapping physical features
  • Population and diversity of the UK
  • Land’s End to John O’Groats
  • London Case Study
  • National parks and conflicts
  • UK links to Europe

Unit 3 –  Challenges and Opportunities in the UK
Investigating current UK challenges to their life and management of these

  • Water challenges and management
  • Waste challenges and management
  • Energy challenges and management
  • Air pollution challenges and management
  • Manchester – opportunities/challenges in a UK city
  • Salford Quays regeneration

Unit 4 – UK Weather and Climate
Investigating UK weather and climate and its impact.

  • UK weather vs climate
  • Measuring weather
  • Types of rain
  • Air pressure, masses and climate zones
  • Factors affecting climate
  • climate graphs
  • Microclimates – measuring weather/fieldwork study
  • UK extreme weather case studies

Unit 5 –  UK Coastlines
Investigating coastal features and landforms within the UK.

  • Coastal processes and waves
  • Erosion, transportation and deposition
  • Erosional landforms of the UK – Dorset
  • Depositional landforms of the UK – Dorset
  • Erosion – Holderness coastline
  • Managing coastlines – Holderness coastline
  • Coastal case study – Blackpool
  • Coastal case study – Newquay – OS map skills

Unit 6 –  Europe our Continent
Investigating Europe, its physical features and geopolitical issues.

  • Countries in Europe
  • Physical features of Europe
  • Difference between EU and Europe
  • European tourism
  • Migration in Europe
  • Russia in Europe
  • Physical geography of Europe
  • Human geography of Europe

Fieldwork

Fieldwork opportunities will be offered during year 7 to support learning in the classroom. Field sketch, microclimate study around school, weather diary, environmental quality survey.

Assessment

Extended writing tasks, knowledge checks and summative assessments will be used to support assessment for learning. Summative assessments will include a mixture of multiple choice, short answer questions and extended answer questions.

Mr A. Palmer
KS3 co-ordinator from Geography

Year 8

In year 8, Geography is taught to all students and involves studying a range of physical and human topics. Topics build upon the UK based learning in year 7 and broaden out into the wider world. Topics are linked to countries/continents where applicable with real life case studies and examples to support topic learning and application. Topics become more technical in challenge.

Unit 1 –  Dangerous Earth
Investigating tectonic hazards of earthquakes, volcanoes and Tsunamis.

  • Earth’s structure
  • Tectonic plate theory
  • Plate boundaries
  • Earthquakes – including case study
  • Reducing risk from earthquakes
  • Tsunamis – Comparing HIC and LIC countries
  • Volcanoes formation and types
  • Volcano case study – Iceland

Unit 2 – Ecosystems of South America
Investigating ecosystems with South America case study examples.

  • Ecosystems – Local and global
  • South America ecosystems
  • Plant and animal adaptations
  • Rainforest ecosystem – Amazon Rainforest
  • Mountain ecosystem – Andes Mountains
  • Cold environment – Patagonia

Unit 3 – Population and China
Investigating population issues with links to China.

  • Population growth – world
  • Demographic transition model/population pyramids
  • Population of the future
  • China population
  • Issues and management – one child policy
  • Managing water in China – 3 gorges/canal system
  • Beijing – China’s Capital

Unit 4 –  Rivers and Flooding
Investigating rivers and flooding with case study examples

  • River profile
  • River landforms – waterfalls focus
  • Importance of rivers – River Thames
  • Causes of flooding
  • Flooding in Pakistan 2022
  • Flooding in the UK case study
  • Managing flooding
  • Rivers and maps – skills

Unit 5 – Global Issues
Investigating current geographical global issues.

  • Plastic in the oceans
  • Reducing plastic waste
  • Climate change causes
  • Climate change impact on Maldives
  • Managing climate change
  • Wildfires

Unit 6 –  Fieldwork and Skills
Investigational traffic in the local are as a fieldwork and skills piece.

  • Fieldwork – data collection
  • Methods write up
  • Data analysis – graph skills
  • Conclusion and evaluation write up.

Fieldwork

Fieldwork opportunities will be offered during year 8 to support learning in the classroom. Virtual fieldtrips and a rivers and flooding fieldtrip will be offered during year 8.

Assessment

Extended writing tasks, knowledge checks and summative assessments will be used to support assessment for learning. Summative assessments will include a mixture of multiple choice, short answer questions and extended answer questions.

Mr A. Palmer
KS3 co-ordinator from Geography

Year 9

In year 9, Geography is taught to all students and involves studying a range of physical and human topics. Topics build upon the widen world learning in year 8 and deepen in technical depth in preparation for GCSE. Topics are linked to countries/continents where applicable with real life case studies and examples to support topic learning and application.

Unit 1 –  Urbanisation and India
Investigating urbanisation impacts with use of India as a case study.

  • Urbanisation world patterns
  • Megacities – Jakarta case study
  • India human and physical features
  • Mumbai and Dharavi – issues and solutions
  • Sustainable urban living – Masdar city

Unit 2 – Development and Africa
Investigating human development with a focus on the continent of Africa.

  • Development global trends
  • Development gap
  • Closing the development gap
  • African countries/ misconceptions
  • Sahara Desert – Great Green Wall
  • Conflict and development
  • Horn of Africa

Unit 3 – Natural Hazards
Investigating natural hazards and their impacts

  • Tectonic hazards
  • Earthquakes – HIC/LIC case studies (Chile vs Nepal)
  • Weather Hazards – Global atmospheric circulation
  • Tropical storms – Typhoon Haiyan case study
  • Extreme weather in the UK
  • Climate change – Natural vs Human
  • Managing climate change

Unit 4 –  The Living World
Investigating ecosystems, impacts of humans and management

  • Ecosystems
  • Small Scale ecosystems – Witton park (local)
  • Tropical rainforests
  • Malaysia – Palm oil, issues and management
  • Cold Environments
  • Svalbard – Issues and management

Unit 5 –  Fieldwork and  Skills
Investigating regeneration of Blackburn (local area) as a fieldwork and skills piece.

  • Fieldwork – data collection
  • Methods write up
  • Data analysis – graph skills
  • Conclusion and evaluation write up.

Fieldwork

Fieldwork opportunities will be offered during year 9 to support learning in the classroom. This will be in the form of virtual fieldtrips on Google Earth and fieldtrips in the local area.

Assessment

Extended writing tasks, knowledge checks and summative assessments will be used to support assessment for learning. Summative assessments will include a mixture of multiple choice, short answer questions and extended answer questions.

Mr A. Palmer
KS3 co-ordinator from Geography

Year 10

Pupils follow the AQA GCSE Specification. Building on both skills and knowledge from KS3, pupils follow the GCSE content below. For more detail on this course or content please see the AQA GCSE Geography website https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/geography/gcse/geography-8035

Unit 1 – Physical Landscapes of the UK
Investigating UK rivers and coastlines

  • UK upland and lowland areas
  • Coastal processes
  • Coastal landforms (Dorset Coast)
  • Coastal management strategies (Holderness coast)
  • River valley changes and processes
  • River landforms (River Severn)
  • River management strategies (Boscastle)

Unit 2 – Urban Issues and Challenges
Investigating cities from LIC/NEE and HIC countries

  • Urbanisation
  • Megacities
  • A Case study of an LIC/NEE city – Rio de Janeiro
  • A case study of a major UK city – Liverpool
  • Urban regeneration
  • Sustainable urban living (Freiburg)

Unit 3 – Human Fieldwork and Skills
Investigating regeneration of Liverpool as a fieldwork and skills piece.

  • Fieldwork – data collection
  • Methods write up
  • Data analysis – graph skills
  • Conclusion and evaluation write up.

Fieldwork

Fieldwork opportunities will be offered during year 10 to support learning in the classroom. This will be in the form of virtual fieldtrips on Google Earth and fieldtrips in the local area. Year 10 includes one compulsory fieldwork that is part of their GCSE course.

Assessment

Exam skills lessons, mock paper and exams will be used to support assessment for learning. Summative assessments will include a mixture of multiple choice, short answer questions and extended answer questions.

Mr A. Lloyd
Academic Leader for Geography

Year 11

Pupils follow the AQA GCSE Specification. Building on both skills and knowledge from KS3, pupils follow the GCSE content below. For more detail on this course or content please see the AQA GCSE Geography website https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/geography/gcse/geography-8035

Unit 1 – The Changing Economic World
Investigating economic development.

  • Measuring economic development
  • Causes of uneven development
  • Reducing the development gap (Jamaica)
  • A case study of an LIC/NEE showing economic development (Nigeria)
  • Economic future of the UK

Unit 2 – Physical Fieldwork and Skills
Investigating impact of humans on the sand dunes at Lytham St Anne’s

  • Fieldwork – data collection
  • Methods write up
  • Data analysis – graph skills
  • Conclusion and evaluation write up.

Unit 3 – The Challenges of Resource Management
Investigating managing resources of food, water and energy.

  • Changing demand for resources in the UK
  • The issues and solutions for food, water and energy management in the UK
  • Water demands across the world
  • Water supply issues and insecurities
  • Strategies to increase water supply

Fieldwork

Fieldwork opportunities will be offered during year 11 to support learning in the classroom. This will be in the form of virtual fieldtrips on Google Earth and fieldtrips in the local area. Year 11 includes one compulsory fieldwork that is part of their GCSE course.

Assessment

Exam skills lessons, mock paper and exams will be used to support assessment for learning. Summative assessments will include a mixture of multiple choice, short answer questions and extended answer questions.

Mr A. Lloyd
Academic Leader for Geography

The study of Geography is about more than just memorising places on a map. It’s about understanding the complexity of our world.

Barack Obama

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