Geography: Statement of Intent

Our intent is to inspire in students a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Our aim is to provide a rich and knowledge-based Geography curriculum which allows our students to have an improved knowledge of the world, a better understanding of how it works and the geographical skills to support their understanding.

The Geography curriculum will enable students to be confident, to understand, and ask questions about the world around them.  The intent is to develop a holistic knowledge of the subject at Key Stage 3 in order establish a strong foundation which will be built on at GCSE; inspiring students to elect to continue to study Geography at both GCSE and post 16. Learning will take place both in and outside the classroom raising the curiosity of our students, ensuring students have a life-long and responsible attitude towards the world around them.

Through the framework of the 2014 National Curriculum, Geography aims to help students to:

Develop age-appropriate, accurate knowledge of the location, physical and human characteristics of a wide range of globally significant places as determined by the 2014 National Curriculum at Key Stage 3 and the AQA GCSE curriculum at Key Stage 4.

Use this knowledge to provide a geographical context to study and understand the actions of important geographical processes.

Understand that these processes give rise to the key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about variation and change to the geographical landscape.

Use geographical vocabulary which is appropriate and accurate and which develops and evolves from Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 4.

Collect, analyse and present a range of data, gathered through experiences of fieldwork, to deepen understanding of geographical processes.

Use and interpret a wide range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes and aerial photographs.

Communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.

Fulfil the requirements of the 2014 National Curriculum for Geography (Key Stage 3).

Expand their own spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development helping them to have a greater understanding of their place in the world, and their rights and responsibilities to other people and the environment.

Recognise and uphold British Values through their behaviour in the classroom and the topics we study.

Implementation

Human and Physical Geography are as equally weighted as possible so students develop learning from both sides of the discipline. This is applied through Key Stage 3 and GCSE to provide a varied and balanced curriculum. Geography Pathways:

The world in which we live in – its environments, landscapes and natural disasters, and the relationship between people and environments, is likely to change more in the next 50 years than it has ever done before. Dealing with vital issues such as climate change, migration, environmental degradation, social issues and natural hazards, A-level Geography is a highly relevant subject to study. The skills learnt are highly sought after by universities and subsequently employers.

Geography is a wide-ranging degree subject as it entails a mix of social and physical sciences that combines the study of the planet’s physical properties with a focus on societies and how they interact. The Guardian newspaper named Geography as a ‘must-have A-Level’ to help [you] make sense of the world. Many universities offer both human and physical geography programmes.

Career / employment

Students who have studied Geography have gone on to work in the following sectors: surveying, engineering, law, science, sales, business, environment, information technology, management, finance, banking, marketing, research, manufacturing, teaching, childcare, engineering and building, arts, design and media, town planning, working abroad and many more.

Please click here for the curriculum overview