Geography

Teachers & Roles in Department

Mr J. Hamshaw - Subject Leader
Mr M. Evans - Teacher of Geography / Head of Y12 
MS J. Rowson - Teacher of Geography
Mr T. Warham - Teacher of Geography 

About Geography

Geography is a well established subject area with a record of excellent examination results. We aim to deliver the subject in a varied and engaging way so helping the pupils learn not only how the world works but also developing their thinking skills. We place a big emphasis on the development of pupil’s transferable skills so they are able to fully contribute to modern life.

ICT in an important part of our teaching and learning which together with group work plays a significant role in the delivery of our curriculum.

Curriculum

KS3

We are updating our teaching plans in KS3 to meet the demands of the National Curriculum.  We aim to deliver topical and engaging subject content in a varied way.  All three years cover a range of topics covering local and global issues.  The content also includes plenty of variety in terms of physical and human geography and a wide range of places are investigated.  The pupils will complete one major geographical enquiry each year. 

KS4 - OCR A

This is a new specification designed to meet the needs and interests of today's geographers.  It is a popular syllabus in the country because it allows teachers to deliver a varied and stimulating curriculum based on the issues facing the students in their local area, as well as global issues.  There are two controlled assignments completed in Y10.  There are three external examinations, all taken in June/July of Y11.

KS5 - AQA

We follow this syllabus because it offers a wide range of topics which link with KS3 and KS4 and introduces new areas of study, like the Geography of Health.  Pupils are examined in January and June of both Y12 and Y13. 

Homework

Homework is  set and marked on a regular basis. The timing and quantity is determined by the nature of the work covered in the pupils lessons and is realistic in terms of achievability for the students without overburdening them and within an acceptable workload for staff.

The content is appropriate to the current scheme of work or topical issue.  As a guide line KS3 students should be doing an average 30 minutes of homework a week. This will increase to an average of 1 hour per week for GCSE pupils. At AS and A level the pupils should be doing an average of 1 hour of set homework for each teacher and the same again in independent study.

Extra-Curricular Activities

In Y7 & Y8 there are fieldwork activities based in the local area and the Peak District. This develops data collection skills and introduces the pupils to the analysis of primary data.

In Y10 & Y11 there are field trips to collect data from their Controlled Assesment and an investigation into alternative energy issues.  There is also a weekend residential to Thornbridge Outdoors.

In Y12 there is a residential field trip to Snowdonia to prepare for January modules and develop field-work skills.