Curriculum Intent

In order to develop students’ sense of curiosity about the world they live in and to promote high standards of attainment, we teach a broad range of topics in depth. Links between what is studied at Key Stages 3 and 4 are explicitly clear so that students build on what they already know when acquiring new knowledge.

We aim to ensure that every student will have an interest in and a sense of wonder about our planet.  In this complex and dynamically changing world, we will equip students with the skills to be able to articulate their own opinions about global issues that affect them as well as understand the views of others.  Through their study of Geography, students will be able to explain where places are, how places and landscapes are formed, how people and their environment interact, and how a diverse range of economies, societies and environments are interconnected.  
 

Year 7 Curriculum

In year 7, students begin by looking at the Geography of the UK, investigating the physical and human landscape, population, weather and economy, whilst getting to grips with some of the geographical skills they will be using over the course of the year.  This leads onto looking at urban issues within the UK and Curitiba in Brazil, developing their understanding of the process of urbanisation, followed by energy and sustainability where students will discover the future energy options for the UK and how we can ensure these are sustainable. Finally, students will look at energy options of wind turbines, nuclear power and carbon footprints. They also look at ecosystems where they learn about the major biomes, their locations and characteristics.

Year 8 Curriculum

In year 8, students begin by looking at water on the land, where they learn about the key processes which help to shape the physical geography of our landscape, through looking at rivers and coasts.  Students then go on to study development and the way countries are classified as ACs, EDCs and LIDCs along with globalisation, aid.  Finally, students look at population and migration, including population structures, the issues of ageing populations and the effects of migration.

Year 9 Curriculum

In year 9, students begin by looking at climate over time, where they learn about changes in global climate patterns, where they learn about the natural and human causes of climate change. Students then go on to look at the Earth’s structure, including formation of volcanoes and the different types of earthquakes. Finally students study tourism where they look at the growth of tourism and the different types of tourism including: Global tourism, Ecotourism, Extreme Tourism and Dark Tourism.

Year 10 Curriculum

Students study the OCR A Geography course. Year 10 starts by focusing on Living in the UK. This is made up of the landscapes of the UK, the people and environmental challenges. Student will understand how landscapes in the UK were formed and changed, how diverse the UK is and what the population is like as well as the role of renewable and non-renewable energy in the UK. This builds upon their knowledge from years 7, 8 and 9 and applies it to new places studied, including the River Tees, Holderness coast, Leicester and Somerset.

Students will then continue to develop their geographical and fieldwork skills, which can be applied to paper 3. They will get to take part in two field work opportunities, one physical and one human. These trips are usually to Leicester City and Bradgate part where students have to collect their own data and later on analyse it.

Year 11 Curriculum

In year 11, students start by learning about the World Around Us. Within this they will study different ecosystems, people and environmental threats to the planet. Students will gain knowledge about the world that they live in, and develop a better understanding about how people can affect the planet, how countries develop and the threats of global warming. They will apply their knowledge to places such as Andros Barrier Reef, Ethiopia and Australia.

Students will revisit the geographical skills they have learnt from years 7 to 11 and the fieldwork they went on, and learn how they can apply this to the paper 3 assessment. They will study a range of maps, graphs and data, looking at drawing information from them and using them appropriately in geography.

Extra-curricular information

The Geography department contribute to the school’s diverse enrichment programme by facilitating students taking part in:

• Duke of Edinburgh
• Fieldtrips
• Eco schools/ recycling within the city
• Zoolab