Geography
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Year 7 | Students will develop their curiosity and fascination about the world and its people. They will engage and enjoy their studies, developing a passion and commitment to learning about our planet and its rich diversity. We aim for students to expand their world knowledge of places and their locations. Students will investigate places at all scales, from the personal to the global. We also expect students to consider what places are like and how they are changing, recognising that the past helps to explain the present. |
| Year 8 | We aim for students to progress their understanding of the big ideas of geography – place, space, scale, diversity, interdependence, physical and human processes, sustainability. Students will appreciate the world as a whole and understand that natural and human landscapes are interdependent and interconnected, formed by physical and human processes. We will encourage the students to develop a comprehensive understanding of the issues facing a diverse range of places and people now and in the future. Students will also extend their spatial awareness, routinely using a wide range of maps effectively to investigate places. |
| Year 9 | Students will develop their understanding of, and ability to use geographical terminology, as a matter of routine, to communicate their ideas and understanding, through maps, discussion, debate and writing at length. They will also explore the world through increasingly complex, independent geographical enquiry and investigate and ask their own geographical questions. Students will make sense of people and places using a wide range of geographical data whilst thinking critically about different viewpoints when investigating places. Students will also reflect on places and people they investigate and justify their own views in reaching conclusions. |
| Year 10 | We aim to study geography in a balanced framework of physical and human themes and investigate the links between them. This is why we have a split of human and physical topics each year. Students will explore case studies in the United Kingdom (UK), higher income countries (HICs), newly emerging economies (NEEs) and lower income countries (LICs). Topics of study include climate change, poverty, deprivation, global shifts in economic power and the challenge of sustainable resource use. Students are also encouraged to understand their role in society, by considering different viewpoints, values and attitudes. Students are required to develop and demonstrate a range of geographical skills, including cartographic, graphical, numerical and statistical skills. |
| Year 11 | Students will continue to study geography in a balanced framework of physical and human themes and investigate the links between them. This is why we have a split of human and physical topics each year. Students will consolidate their knowledge of case studies in the United Kingdom (UK), higher income countries (HICs), newly emerging economies (NEEs) and lower income countries (LICs). Topics of study include climate change, poverty, deprivation, global shifts in economic power and the challenge of sustainable resource use. Students will deepen their understanding of their role in society, by considering different viewpoints, values and attitudes. Students will further develop and demonstrate a range of geographical skills, including cartographic, graphical, numerical and statistical skills. |
| Year 12 |
The AQA curriculum is designed to challenge perceptions and stimulate their investigative and analytical skills. The Coasts and Hazards unit builds on the knowledge they gained at GCSE and provides the opportunity for fieldwork which they will need for their NEA. Changing places introduces new concepts on how we view places and the connections we develop to a place through either representation or our lived experiences. The coastal unit and changing places are popular sections of the spec when students look to choose their NEA title so it is taught in Year 12 to provide a solid foundation of knowledge. Geographical skills are developed throughout the 2 year course and integrated into the themes and topics where appropriate. |
| Year 13 |
The A level Geography course is synoptic and each unit interlinks as well as relating to the wider world and current affairs. The course content in Year 2 revisits themes and ideas covered in year 1 providing more breath and a deeper understanding. Students will continue to work on their NEA independently until January of Year 13 which accounts for 20% of their overall grade. During their A-level course students should: • understand the nature and use of different types of geographical information, including qualitative and quantitative data, primary and secondary data, images, factual text and discursive/creative material, digital data, numerical and spatial data and other forms of data, including crowd-sourced and 'big data' • collect, analyse and interpret such information, and demonstrate the ability to understand and apply suitable analytical approaches for the different information types • undertake informed and critical questioning of data sources, analytical methodologies, data reporting and presentation, including the ability to identify sources of error in data and to identify the misuse of data • communicate and evaluate findings, draw well-evidenced conclusions informed by wider theory, and construct extended written argument about geographical matters |
