Geography

Faculty of Humanities

Statement:

To educate our students so they can better understand the workings of our planet, and in doing so helping them create a more equal, sustainable and harmonious relationship with nature and all people in the future.

Key stage 3

Year 7

  • Term 1 – It’s your planet – The Big Bang theory; Human evolution; Human migration over time; human settlements around the world
  • Term 2 – Mapping and GIS – Map drawing and interpretation (contour lines, map symbols, OS Maps; Map scale and measurement; Map co-ordinates and grid references.
  • Term 3 – Ecosystems under threat – Biomes of the world; Ecosystems; food chains and food webs; Tropical rainforests and deforestation; Sustainable use of rainforests
  • Term 4 – Our restless planet – Earths layers and plate tectonics; Tectonic hazards: Earthquakes and volcanoes; Tsunamis; Case studies: China earthquake and Iceland volcano; Why humans live in danger zones.
  • Term 5 – Rivers – The river Thames; The water cycle; A closer look at rivers; River erosion, deposition and landforms; Our water supply; Floods and protection from floods – Case Study: River Thames flood

 

Year 8

  • Term 1 – Weather and Climate – UK weather patterns; High and low air pressure systems; How to measure the weather; Cloud types; What causes our weather; Different climates around the world; Case Study – 2013 Winter Storms.
  • Term 2 – Our Warming Planet – History of Earth’s changing temperature; Factors that change our temperature; Causes and effects of a changing climate around the world; UK’s changing climate; Contrasting the effects between high-income countries and low-income countries; Case study – Paris Climate Agreement 2015; COP 27,28.
  • Term 3 – Population – Population changes over human history; Rural – Urban migration; Population around the UK; Population distribution around the world; Human population impacts on the planet; Comparing population growth on high-income and low-income countries; Case study – China: One child policy.
  • Term 4 – From Rock to Soil – Identifying the three different rock groups; Understanding how these rock groups are created (Rock Cycle); Understanding the different uses for rocks; The three different types of weather (Physical, Chemical & Biological); Identifying the rock formations/landscapes and types that make up the UK; Understanding the importance of soil, soil erosion and desertification.
  • Term 5 – Urbanisation – Understanding how civilisations grew to create our towns and cities; Rural-Urban migration; Urbanisation around the world; Why people choose to move to urban areas; Positives & Negatives to living in both rural and urban areas; How can we make urban areas more sustainable and cleaner places to live; Case Studies – Manchester (history & regeneration); Lagos (slums).
  • Term 6 – Geographical Project – TBC

 

Year 9

  • Term 1 – Earning a Living – Understanding and defining the 4 sectors of employment (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Quaternary); Identifying the link between development and percentage of people in each employment sector changes; UK employment structure; Employment structure around the world; Case studies – Doncaster, Bangladesh.
  • Term 2 – Living off Earth’s Resources – Three main natural resources (Water, Food & Energy); Understanding the importance of soil (agriculture) linking to desertification; Prevention of desertification; How to move away from fossil fuels and towards renewable/sustainable forms of energy production.
  • Term 3 – International Development – Comparing high and low developed countries; How to measure development (development indicators); Understanding how some countries have become well developed and how some have been hindered in their past; Linking development with fossil fuels; Links to development and poverty; Case Studies – Malawi (LDC) & Singapore (HDC).
  • Term 4 – Comparing Russia and the Middle East – Physical landscapes/relief; Climates; Biomes; Populations and life in each area; Conflicts; Case Studies – Sakha (Russia) & Israel (Middle East).
  • Term 5 – Coasts – Factors that cause and effect waves; Linking the moon to our tides; Erosional landforms; Depositional landforms, Transportation of sediments; Coastal defences; Case study – Happisburgh.
  • Term 6 – Reculver Coastal Fieldwork – Field trip to Reculver Bay based on term 5 topic of coasts; Evaluating the effectiveness of the coastal defences in place; comparing the two sites present (1 without & 1 with defences), Writing up results, creating tables, graphs and discussing the outcomes from the field trip.

Key Stage 4

Year 10

  • Term 1 – Ecosystems (Tropical Rainforest & Hot Deserts) – Identifying small scale ecosystems; Food chains & webs; Locations and characteristics of global ecosystems and biomes; Tropical Rainforests; Deforestation; Case study – Malaysia; Hot deserts – Characteristics; Plant and animal adaptations; development opportunities; Desertification; Case study – Thar desert.
  • Term 2 – Resource Management – Water, food and energy; main focus on energy; Energy security in the UK & the world; Comparing renewable and non-renewable energy sources; Sustainable energy use; Case study – Chambamontera Micro-hydro scheme, Peru.
  • Term 3 – Physical UK Landscapes (Rivers) – Comparing features in Upper, Middle and Lower courses; Erosional processes & landforms; Depositional processes & landforms; Transportation of material; Flood risk analysis; Flood defences (hard & soft engineering); Case study – Banbury Floods & Somerset Floods.
  • Term 4 – Coastal Landscapes – Waves (characteristics & types); Weathering processes; Erosional processes & Landforms; Depositional processes & Landforms; Transportation of sediment and landforms; Coastal management strategies (Hard & Soft); Case Studies – Swanage & Lyme Regis. Links to Reculver Bay field trip in term 5/6.
  • Term 5 – The Urban World/Urban Change in the UK – Urbanisation and population distribution around the world; Megacities (locations, push & pull factors); squatter/slum settlements; Case study – Rio De Janeiro. Urban population distribution around the UK; Social, Economic & Environmental challenges to urban areas around the UK; Case study – Bristol.
  • Term 6 – Sustainable Urban Living – Energy use; Water use; Traffic management; Case study – Freiburg.

 

Year 11

  • Term 1 – Natural Hazards (Tectonic) – Major tectonic plates; Plate boundary types; Primary & secondary effects of earthquakes; Immediate & Long-term responses of earthquakes; Case Studies – Chile (HIC) & Nepal (LIC); Volcano distribution and effects; Living with and reducing the effects of living on or near plate boundaries.
  • Term 2 – Natural Hazards (Weather & Climate Change) – Global atmospheric circulation; Tropical storm/hurricane formation and locations; Structure of tropical storms; Reducing effects of tropical storms; Case study – Typhoon Haiyan (Primary & secondary effects; Immediate & long-term responses); Extreme weather in UK; Case study – Somerset Floods 2014.

Evidence of climate change; causes of climate change (natural & human); managing impacts.

  • Term 3 – Development Gap – Methods used to measure development (GDP & HDI); Demographic Transition Model; Population pyramids (comparing HIC’s & LIC’s); Causes & effects of uneven development; Migration reasons & patterns; Reducing the gap (Aid, technology, debt relief, tourism & fair trade).
  • Term 4 – Nigeria: A Newly Emerging Economy & The Changing UK Economy – Location, importance to Africa; Comparing Nigeria & UK land, economy, QOL; Political influence on an emerging economy; Transnational corporation influence on growing economy; International aid; Environmental issues linked to urban growth.
  • Term 5 – Issue Evaluation (Pre-Release) & Revision – Read through the pre-release; interpretation of data; practice 6/9-mark questions; analyse data from Reculver Field trip; structured revision of all topics covered in GCSE.

Key Stage 5

Year 12

Term 1 & 2 – Coastal systems and landscapes – Introduction; Systems and processes in coastal environments; Coastal landscape development and management; Quantitative and qualitative skills. 

Term 3 & 4 – Hazards – Hazards in a geological context; Plate tectonics; Volcanic and Seismic hazards; Tropical cyclone hazards; Fires in nature

Term 5 & 6 – Changing Places – The nature and importance of places; Changing places – relationships and connections; Changing places – meaning and representation; Place studies; Representations of place and the use of quantitative and qualitative sources

 

Year 13

Term 1 & 2 – Water & Carbon Cycle & NEA – Water cycle relating to rivers, lakes, oceans, glaciers, wetlands; Rivers, features, transportation, water balance; Flooding; Hydrographs; Deforestation. Carbon cycle; layers of earth’s atmosphere; Movement of carbon; Oceanography; Volcanism; Biomass; Farming; Urbanisation; Case study – Lancashire. NEA – Reculver Bay (Physical); Chatham Dockside & Rochester (Human).

Term 3 & 4 – Global Systems & Global Governance – World economy; globalisation; International finances; World Trade Organisation; Inequality around the world; International Trade; Trading relationships & Patterns; Transnational Corporations; Case Study – Apple; United Nations Development Programme.

Term 5 – Resource Security – Renewable & Non-Renewable resources; Resource management; Resource development; Environmental impact; Case study – Lumwana Copper Project, Northwest Zambia; Energy production (Gas, Oil & Coal patterns); Energy consumption patterns; Global patterns of production, consumption and trade; Water resource issues (Demand, use, security); Case study – The Aswan High Dam and Lake Nasser; Energy security (comparing renewable & non-renewable); Energy security around the world; Global warming & the greenhouse effect; Mineral Security (role of copper & other mineral ores); Case study – Para state, Brazil. Case Study – Niger Delta, Nigeria (energy resource); Case study – Iztapalapa, Mexico City (Water shortages).