Geography

The aim at KS3 is to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives.   The KS3 curriculum offers a blend of human and physical geography topics.  These include Africa a continent of possibilities, Desperate deserts, Ice, Wonders, Beautiful Birmingham and Angry Planet. Our Ks3 curriculum creates and contests knowledge over time. This enables our pupils to think in a Geographical way about the world.  We are able to interleave subject knowledge and understanding throughout the three years.

There are Geographical skills interwoven throughout KS3 to help deepen their knowledge and understanding of the topics.

Students continue to consolidate the skills they develop in Key Stage 3 by extending their knowledge and understanding of physical and human features in the world.  Within the topics at GCSE students develop their analytical skills as well as learning to evaluate and interpret a range of geographical resources through a variety of both practical tasks and written tasks both in and outside of the classroom. In addition, students prepare for their exams by practising GCSE questions covering all a range of skills required for the exam.

GCSE aims to:

•       develop and extend their knowledge of locations, places, environments and processes, and of different scales including global; and of social, political and cultural contexts (know geographical material).

•       gain understanding of the interactions between people and environments, change in places and processes over space and time, and the interrelationship between geographical phenomena at different scales and in different contexts (think like a geographer)

•       develop and extend their competence in a range of skills including those used in fieldwork, in using maps and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and in researching secondary evidence, including digital sources; and develop their competence in applying sound enquiry and investigative approaches to questions and hypotheses (study like a geographer)

•       apply geographical knowledge, understanding, skills and approaches appropriately and creatively to real world contexts, including fieldwork, and to contemporary situations and issues; and develop well-evidenced arguments drawing on their geographical knowledge and understanding (applying geography)

Exam Board: AQA

A level aims to:

•        develop their knowledge of locations, places, processes and environments, at all geographical scales from local to global across the specification as a whole.

•        develop an in-depth understanding of the selected core and non-core processes in physical and human geography at a range of temporal and spatial scales, and of the concepts which illuminate their significance in a range of locational contexts

•        recognise and be able to analyse the complexity of people–environment interactions at all geographical scales, and appreciate how these underpin understanding of some of the key issues facing the world today

•        develop their understanding of, and ability to apply, the concepts of place, space, scale and environment, that underpin both the national curriculum and GCSE, including developing a more nuanced understanding of these concepts

•        gain understanding of specialised concepts relevant to the core and non-core content. These must include the concepts of causality, systems, equilibrium, feedback, inequality, representation, identity, globalisation, interdependence, mitigation and adaptation, sustainability, risk, resilience and thresholds

•        improve their understanding of the ways in which values, attitudes and circumstances have an impact on the relationships between people, place and environment, and develop the knowledge and ability to engage, as citizens, with the questions and issues arising

•        become confident and competent in selecting, using and evaluating a range of quantitative and qualitative skills and approaches, (including observing, collecting and analysing geo-located data) and applying them as an integral part of their studies

•        understand the fundamental role of fieldwork as a tool to understand and generate new knowledge about the real world, and become skilled at planning, undertaking and evaluating fieldwork in appropriate situations

•        apply geographical knowledge, understanding, skills and approaches in a rigorous way to a range of geographical questions and issues, including those identified in fieldwork, recognising both the contributions and limitations of geography.

•        develop as critical and reflective learners, able to articulate opinions, suggest relevant new ideas and provide evidenced argument in a range of situations.