Geography
"The study of geography is more than just memorising places on a map. It is about understanding the complexity of our world." Barack Obama
The Geography Team (part of the Humanities Faculty)
- Miss Newham – Director of Learning for Humanities
- Mrs Evans – Deputy Director of Learning for Humanities (Geography Subject Lead)
- Mr Reed – Geography Teacher
- Mr Crowther – Geography Teacher
- Mr Horrobin – Geography Teacher
- Miss Harris – Geography Teacher
Geography is all about both the physical and human world around us and by its nature is constantly changing. The Geography team work together to create and follow detailed schemes of work in order to provide up-to-date and interesting lessons that deliver the curriculum in an engaging way that is relevant to the lives of our students.
For revision materials please see the bottom of this page.
The Curriculum
Key Stage 3
Students in Years 7, 8 & 9 receive four 60 minute lessons per fortnight. Students are taught in mixed ability groups throughout Key Stage 3 (KS3). Progress is tracked and monitored by the department to provide additional support and intervention. The topics studied at KS3 are the building blocks of those studied in KS4.
Key Stage 4
Students in Years 10 & 11 receive five 60 minute lessons a fortnight. The two year GCSE course is taken with the AQA examination board. There are 3 exams:
- Paper 1: Living with the physical environment
- Paper 2: Challenges in the human environment
- Paper 3: Geographical applications
The topics for Paper 2 are studied in Year 11 while the topics for Paper 2 are studied in Year 10.
The Physical Environment fieldwork trip is completed in Year 10 and the Human Environment fieldwork trip in Year 11; Paper 3 examines what the students learn on these trips, it is therefore essential that students attend them. This is an opportunity to experience Geography in the real world and can be fun!
Students complete a range of both formal and informal assessments in class, as well as mock and real examinations. Exam questions will contain 'command words' that indicate how they should be answered, e.g. 'describe' or 'explain'.
Revision and catch-up sessions
'Achieve' sessions are held on Thursdays after school between 2:45 and 3:45 for students in years 10 and 11 studying Geography and History. These sessions are supported by staff and are available for anyone who wishes to complete homework, revise or complete missed work. Room 123 is a collaborative working environment where students can help each other. For those who prefer a quieter environment or may have an assessment to catch up on, we use room 124
Year 11 students are invited to extra revision sessions in room 009 on Thursday mornings at 8:10am. Refreshments are provided.
Useful links
Enrichment
A variety of field trips take place that are linked to the curriculum and are designed to enhance students' learning and appreciation of the geography around them.
- Year 7 - Local school site study
- Year 8 - Weather and Climate
- Year 9 – Bolton Abbey and tourism
- Year 10 – Holderness coast (Physical environment)
- Year 11 – Halifax (Human environment)
The field trips in Years 10 and 11 are essential components of Paper 3 as this exam will directly refer to the work students complete on the day and in follow-up lessons.
To help broaden and deepen your understanding of Geography, below are weekly news articles to read and learn about a different real-world topic. If you are studying Geography at GCSE this is a valuable opportunity to read around the subject and boost your learning, as well as the articles being interesting and informative in their own right.
Please click the links below to view our curriculum plans.