’Geography is the study of the earth's landscapes, peoples, places and environments. It is, quite simply, about the world in which we live.’
Royal Geographical Society 2006
'What other subject tells us so much about the great issues of our age, natural and human?'
Professor Andrew Goudie, University of Oxford
Geography stimulates and answers questions about the natural and man made worlds. We aim to widen student's knowledge of places and environments, to develop their investigative and problem solving skills and to be the focus in the curriculum for understanding and resolving issues about the environment and sustainable development.
Iceland Year 11 - 13
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What we do…
Visits to Walton on the Naze, RES Alternative Energy Centre and residential fieldwork to Dorset (GCSE) and Somerset (A Level/IB). Fieldwork is a vital part of geographical education, enabling students to see 'for real' features of the physical and human world and to learn the techniques of primary data collection.
A visit to Iceland is regularly organised. The Geography Society organises speakers such as Dr. Paul Coones (Oxford University ) 'the limits of Geography' and activities such as quizzes and orienteering for younger students.
Several students continue the subject at university each year, popular universities include Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, Nottingham, Durham and Birmingham. The department also has a good record for Oxbridge applications.
Geography in Years 7 to 9 ( KS3 )
We follow a course based on the textbooks 'geog. 1, 2 and 3'. The three year course gives students the opportunity to cover all three aspects of the subject (physical, human and environmental geography) and provides extensive opportunities for ICT and individual research tasks through topics such as development, globalisation, coasts, resources and natural hazards. Examples are taken from both LEDCs and MEDCs.
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Year 7:
- Map skills
- Settlement
- Shopping
- Rivers and Flooding
- Football
- Plates, Earthquakes
and
Volcanoes
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Year 8:
- Coasts
- Weather and Climate
- Ecosystems
- Resources
- Energy
- Crime
- Brazil
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Year 9:
- Development
- France
- Global Fashion
- Coffee
- Local actions, global
effects
- Tourism: ‘good or bad?’
-
International
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Year 8 Sustainability Day
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GCSE Geography ( KS4 )
Edexcel Specification A
The course is made up of four core and two option units. There is a four day residential fieldcourse to Dorset held at the end of the Spring Term. Students then complete their coursework ( 2500 words ) based on data collected during the fieldcourse. The coursework is worth 25% of the total grade.
Core units:
A1 The Physical World - coasts, rivers and glaciation
A2 The Human World - population and settlement
A3 The Economic World - farming, industry and multinationals
A4 The Natural World - weather, climate and ecosystems
Option units:
B5 Managing the Natural Environment - coastal and flood protection, fragile environments
C7:Managing Tourism - the impacts of tourism, developing sustainable tourism
AS / A2 Geography
6 modules are studied, three at AS and three at A2.
AS:
- The Physical Environment eg. plate tectonics, ecosystems, meteorology
- The Human Environment eg. population change, national population policies, contemporary urbanisation in LEDCs
- Investigative Skills ( mostly based on fieldwork )
Iceland Year 11 - 13
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IB Diploma
All students study the Core Module ‘Population, Resources and Development’ and optional units Coastal Processes and Management and Ecosystems and Human Activity.
Additional units at Higher Level:
- Lithospheric Processes and Hazards
- Globalisation
Coursework: Standard Level 1500 words, Higher level 2500 words.
All Sixth Form students go on a 5 day residential fieldcourse to Somerset in the Spring Term of Year 12.
Year 10 GCSE Fieldcourse to Dorset
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