Geography

Students in Years 7 and 8 have 2 hours per week of Geography and are taught in mixed ability classes. Our aim at this stage is to develop their knowledge of the location of globally significant places, understand the processes that give rise to key human and physical features and become competent in geographical skills. Our aim is to provide the geographical knowledge, skills and understanding ready for the GCSE course which starts in Year 9.

Year 7 curriculum:

In Year 7 students cover the following topics:  Maps and the UK, Map Skills, Africa, Rivers and Flooding, Weather and Climate, Population and China

Year 8 curriculum:

In Year 8 students cover the following topics: Hazards, Middle East, Coasts, Extreme environments, Glaciation and India

 In Year 9 and 10, students will follow the Eduqas B specification.  The course is divided into 3 key themes:

Theme 1: Changing Places & Economics

·      UK Cities

·      Urban and rural change

·      Changing patterns of retailing

·      Leisure

·      Global Cities

·      Development Issues

·      Rural development in South Africa

Theme 2: Changing Environments

·      River processes and landscapes

·      River management

·      Coastal processes and landscapes

·      Coastal management

·      Extreme weather

·      Patterns of weather and climate

·      Climate Change

Theme 3: Environmental Challenges

·      How ecosystems function / Ecosystems under threat

·      Water supply and demand

·      The issue of desertification

·      How should coral reefs be managed?

The applied fieldwork enquiry will involve students carrying out their own fieldwork at 2 different locations and involves preparing and conducting their own methodologies and data collection to take into the exam where they will show how to analyse, interpret their data and objectively evaluate the results of their fieldwork.

Students studying Geography GCSE in Year 11 will follow the AQA A specification. Students will sit two final exams in order to gain their GCSE qualification and complete Controlled Assessment based around fieldwork.

The pupils will study the following topics:

·      Tourism

·      Population Change

·      Changing Urban Environments

·      Coastal Zone

·      Water on the Land

·      Restless Earth

More information about the course, including past papers and the specification can be found by following the link below: http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/geography/gcse/geography-a-9030