Geography

INTENT:

What is the curriculum aim / vision for this subject?

Successful learners – students will enjoy learning and will have high aspirations in order to achieve well. Students will develop a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of geographical issues in the modern world.
Responsible citizens – students will develop an understanding of interactions and interrelationships between people and the environment and appreciate the need for sustainability.
Resilient, confident learners – to develop transferable skills for the future

What do we expect students to get from this subject?

Students will gain an understanding of world and geographical issues.
They will be able to construct sustained and convincing arguments to draw well evidenced conclusions on geographical issues.
Students will use and evaluate a wide range of geographical skills and techniques which are transferable skills for the future.

IMPLEMENTATION:

How does learning develop over the five years?

Year 7:

Curriculum themed around ‘My Geography’; initially, in order to work on foundation ‘place’ knowledge, Tourism is studied. This also enables students to relate geography to their own experiences. Students then look at Settlement with a Liverpool-based case-study element. This ‘local’ aspect is further developed via the final topic of the year, ‘Rivers & the Mersey’, where students look at fluvial processes and landforms.

Year 8:

Curriculum themed around ‘Our Geography’, beginning to explore the wider world. The first term includes ‘Rivers & the Mersey’*, where students apply knowledge flooding to places such as Bangladesh as well as some human geography, studying population. Our departmental theme of sustainability plays a major role in the spring term’s ‘Can a city be sustainable?’, whilst the coasts topic further develops understanding of processes such as erosion and transportation. Finally, vastly contrasting environments are studied with ‘Glaciation & Geographic Skills’ and ‘Dangerous Deserts’, both of which allow students to revisit the idea of sustainability.

Year 9:

Curriculum themed around ‘Changing Geography’, focusing on globalisation and development. Through this numerous places around the world are explored including China, India, the Middle East, Russia and various areas within Africa, such as Nigeria.

* For 2019-2020 this topic appears in both Y7 & Y8 – from 2020-2021 Y8 will study weather & climate

Year 10 and 11

The department teaches the AQA Geography specification (8035) which includes the following sections:

What principles have guided our decision making in developing this curriculum? What is distinctive about our curriculum?

Changes to the specifications at GCSE and A-level have been key factors in developing the geography curriculum.
The geography curriculum is distinctive as students will travel the world from their classroom, exploring:
Current case studies in the United Kingdom (focusing on the local changes within the city of Liverpool);
Higher income countries (HICs);
Newly emerging economies (NEEs) and lower income countries (LICs).
Topics of study include: climate change, poverty, deprivation, global shifts in economic power and the challenge of sustainable resource use.
Students are also encouraged to understand their role in society, by considering different viewpoints, values and attitudes

How is the timetabled curriculum supplemented or enriched by other approaches to learning?

Fieldwork allows students to apply their knowledge and understanding to interpret, analyse and evaluate information and issues related to geographical enquiry. Additionally, students use a variety of skills and techniques to investigate questions and issues and communicate findings in relation to geographical enquiry.
The department has developed strong links with the universities and employers to enrich learning.
The department uses current affairs to support the learning of geographical issues.

In what ways does our curriculum help to develop…?

Cultural diversity and identity: various cultures and communities are studied within ‘Population’
Physically and mentally healthy lifestyles: field trips involve healthy exercise
Community participation: the department has developed links with universities and employers
Careers and enterprise: the department has developed links with universities and employers
Technology and the media: students are encouraged to develop their research skills using the geographical websites and students understand the importance of the technology and the media within the ‘Globalisation’ module
Creativity and critical thinking: Decision making activities and project based activities encourage students to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.