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Geography

The Geography department strives to bring geography to life for our students and deliver a diverse curriculum that interests them as well as excites them. We want all our students to enjoy coming to geography lessons and to build a strong understanding of rapidly changing social and environmental challenges facing our world. All students should feel welcome and heard in our lessons, being confident to share their viewpoints through a range of strategies. We also want all students who study geography, regardless of their year group, to get to know a wide range of locations through the topics we teach, linked to both human and physical geography with a focus on understanding and valuing differences, learning about current and future geographical challenges and solutions. We want our students to develop a broad range of skills including spatial awareness, data collection, analysis, justification, evaluative, literacy, critical thinking, debating as well as being able to articulate their ideas and opinions that challenge their preconceptions of places around the World. We want our older geographers to also be able to see geography in everything they do and to be able to link their learning in their geography lessons to their other subjects and the wider world around them.  

Staffing: 

Head of Department: Mrs L Taylor

Mrs J Davis, Mr S Ahmed, Mr J Dhillon, Miss Daniells, Miss Fatima

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Key Stage 3

Pupils are examined at the start of the Spring & end of the Summer Term through whole school examinations. In addition to this they also complete an assessment for each unit. These assessments include examinations, fieldwork studies, Decision Making Exercises (DMEs) and group work presentations.

Pupils are taught in ability based groups.

Key Stage 4  – Year 10 & 11

• Pupils study the Edexcel Specification B Geography GCSE, a modern syllabus with up to date case studies and a focus on the world around us today and implications for the future. The course consists of 3 units as detailed below.

UNIT 1 – Global Geographical Issue which includes Hazardous Earth, Development Dynamics and Challenges of an Urbanising World.  All three sub units contain up to date case studies where the pupils are expected to apply their knowledge and understanding of key issues. The exam for this unit is 1 hour 30 minutes long and accounts for 37.5% of their GCSE grade.

UNIT 2 – UK Geographical Issues which includes UK’s Evolving Physical Landscape and the UK’s evolving Human Landscape. The main focus of the unit is to undertake investigations into a physical (rivers) and a human landscape (Birmingham).  The exam for this unit is 1 hour 30 minutes long and accounts for 37.5% of their GCSE grade.

UNIT 3 – People and Environmental Issues which includes People and the Biosphere, Forests under Threat and Consuming Energy Resources. This unit includes a decision making exercise linked to an energy issue in a forest. The exam for this unit is 1 hour 30 minutes long and accounts for 25% of their GCSE grade.

Key Stage 5 – Year 12 & 13

Edexcel A Level Geography

A challenging and rewarding course focused on current geographical issues (Physical, Human and Environmental) and geographical research techniques. Pupils must undertake compulsory fieldwork, including occasional Saturday commitments and residentials. The course is an A Level and exams take place at the end of Year 13.

PAPER 1: Physical Geography (Dynamic Landscapes and Physical Systems & Sustainability). This unit includes four physical geography topics. Two of the topics are completed in Year 12 – Tectonic Processes & Hazards and Coastal Landscapes & Change. Two of the topics are completed in Year 13 – Water Insecurity and Energy Insecurity. The coastal topic includes a residential to Dorset to consider how coastal landscapes are formed and used. The exam for this unit will be in Year 13. The exam for this unit is 2hr 15 mins long and is worth 30% of the A Level qualification.

PAPER 2: Human Geography (Dynamic Places and Human Systems & Geopolitics). This unit includes four human geography topics. Two of the topics are completed in Year 12 – Globalisation and Diverse Places. Two of the topics are completed in Year 13 – Superpowers and Global Development/Connections. The regeneration topic includes fieldwork which will be conducted in Birmingham City Centre. The exam for this unit will be in Year 13. The exam for this unit is 2hr 15 mins long and is worth 30% of the A Level qualification.

PAPER 3: Synoptic Paper. This exam is an unseen skills based paper. The exam will include information and sources linked to two or more of the topics learnt for Paper 1 or Paper 2. The exam will involve reading time to allow the students to understand the sources prior to answering the questions. The exam for this unit is 2hr and 15mins long and is worth 20% of the A Level qualification.

COURSEWORK: Students will be writing a piece of coursework 3000-4000 words long on a topic of their choice from paper 1 or paper 2. This is a totally independent piece of work and the student will have to complete research, analysis and conclusions around a title of their choice. This piece of work will be worth 20% of the A Level qualification.

Homework

Homework is set on a regular basis and includes; extension and completion of class activities, preparation for upcoming class activities, research, online quizzes, exam revision and project completion (assessments) and poster/ display work. Seneca is also often used widely with KS4 and KS5 groups in order to aid regular revision and retrieval work throughout the year. KS4 pupils also have access to GCSEPod to help with revision and exam technique.

Pupils are also expected to complete homework projects through cross curricular tasks set around a number of topics. These homework projects are completed alongside other departments through the year including History, English, RE and PE to name a few.

Extending Pupil Knowledge through Additional Reading, Websites and Activities

We would encourage pupils to read newspapers and watch the news on a regular basis and to watch geography based documentaries to enrich their broader curriculum knowledge. We would encourage families to discuss these articles/ programmes with them and draw out the reasons behind events and any possible consequences of human or physical actions in order to develop higher level skills.

It is important to remember the breadth of transferable skills used in Geography and the benefit that developing literacy and numeracy skills will have in allowing pupils to complete higher level Geography work. For example, writing in different styles, to different audiences, using a wide ranging vocabulary and being able to gather, analyse and evaluate data effectively.

Websites:

Suggested Reading 

We encourage the pupil to read around the subject as much as possible. Certain KS3 topics include reading as part of the units. Reading is embedded into the KS4 curriculum with numerous articles and wider reading activities embedded into the units through the GCSE. A Level geography requires reading as standard. The vast majority of the lessons include elements of wider reading due to the nature of the A Level course. However, we also read certain books as a class including Prisoners of Geography and regular articles for the Economist.  

Extra-Curricular Activities

The Geography department also takes the lead in environmental awareness and sustainability education across the school, through its curriculum, displays and school initiatives like Fairtrade Fortnight. We also run a geography lunch time club for KS3 pupils to engage with a number of geographical topics through the year. We are committed to promoting our school values; Collaboration, Aspirations, Respect, Equality and Responsibility to pupils at every opportunity.

Geography Careers

The Geography department work hard to discuss and highlight key careers and further learning in geography. This includes discussing career pathways with our KS4 groups, creating a careers display which highlights key roles linked to Geography and discussing careers as part of our curriculum regularly.

For further information on geography careers, feel free to explore the links below: