"What is our knowledge worth if we know nothing about the world that sustains us, nothing about natural systems and climate, nothing about other countries and cultures?"

Why study Geography?

• We believe that Geography is essential in this age of globalisation.
• Geography has links with many other subjects such as Science, Mathematics, Economics, ICT, History to name a few!
• Geographical skills and knowledge are relevant to many careers.
• Geography is a springboard for many careers - Geographers are very employable!

Geography is an exciting, relevant, topical and challenging subject which we believe to be essential in this age of globalisation. By its very nature, Geography is accessible to all because all students live in this world and have many experiences, shared and individual, of the physical and human world and the interaction of the two (i.e. the environment).   Geography features more and more in the news and it is hoped that Geography lessons help to enforce the links between concepts and current events.   The Department is forward-thinking and constantly strives to update teaching and learning through the use of recent resources and topical issues.   We adopt an enquiry-based learning approach when appropriate to encourage thinking and reasoning skills.   Our aims, relating directly to the whole school aims and showing our contribution towards student achievement, are as follows:-

.  to stimulate student curiosity, interest and enjoyment of the subject and world around us.
.  to cultivate a sense of location, a knowledge of places and respect and empathy for different cultures and ways of life.
.  to develop an understanding of both physical and human processes that affect spatial decisions and patterns.
.  to develop an understanding and appreciation of the human and physical dimensions of the environment, and environmental links, at scales from local to global.
.  to enable students to evaluate attempts at environmental management and sustainability.
.  to enable students to perceive Geography in the context of a wider body of knowledge, vocabulary and skills.
.  to encourage open, inquiring minds that are aware of contemporary issues, to encourage the development of informed opinions and support of such opinions with reasoned arguments.
.  to enable students to develop personal skills such as communication, team work, problem solving, presentation and time management.

We strive to achieve these aims through a range of the teaching and learning activities in the classroom and in the field.

Key Stage 3

Year 7
Weather, Map skills, settlement and the local area (half day trip to Downe)
Year 8
Atlas skills, economic activities (farming, global fashion and tourism in Australia ), rivers, population (optional residential field trip during Enrichment Week).
Year 9
Volcanoes and earthquakes, development, resources and the environment (day trip to Natural History Museum )

Key Stage 4

Rivers (and floods), coasts, limestone, weather and climate, hazards (tropical storms, drought, volcanoes, tsunamis, earthquakes), tropical rainforests.
Trade, aid and development, economic activities, settlement, population, Japan.
Residential field trip to Shrewsbury.

Key Stage 5

Year 12
Population, settlement dynamics, economic systems.
Atmospheric systems, Landform systems and coastal systems.
4 day residential to Dorset.
Year 13
Cold environments, Leisure and tourism, Issues in sustainable development (transport policies, forests, oceans as a threatened resource, energy)
Joint residential field trip to Lake District with Biology.