Geography
What Is Special About This Subject?
Geography inspires curiosity about the world we live in and encourages students to care about its diverse people and places. The world is facing many issues globally, regionally, and locally – and students will learn how society can overcome these issues while caring for the world we all depend on.
What Is The Learning Journey Through This Subject?
Key Stage 4 – GCSE Geography
WHAT WILL I LEARN ON THIS COURSE?
Within Geography, students will cover a variety of topics ranging from both physical geography and human geography. A breakdown of topics taught in each year group is detailed below.
Year 7
- Tectonic Hazards
- Population Growth
- Glaciation
- The Middle East
- Industrialisation
- The UK
Year 8
- India
- Africa
- Weather Hazards
- Development
- Rivers
- Microclimate Fieldwork – Onsite
Year 9
- China
- Coastlines
- Russia
- Global Resources
- Tectonic Hazards
- Weather Hazards
Year 10 (GCSE)
- Closing the Development Gap
- Economic Growth of Nigeria & the UK
- Tropical Rainforests
- Hot Deserts
- Urbanisation
- Urban Regeneration Fieldwork – Stratford
Year 11 (GCSE)
- River Landscapes
- Coastal Landscapes
- Coastal Defences Fieldwork – Reculver & Herne Bay
- Global Resource Management
- Energy Insecurity
- Issue Evaluation,
Year 12 (IB)
- Geophysical Hazards
- Hazard Vulnerability
- Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions
- Coastal Environments
- Sand Dune Development Fieldwork – Camber Sands
- Internal Assessment – Fieldwork Report
Year 13 (IB)
- Population Distribution
- Population Dynamics
- Climate Change Vulnerability
- Climate Change Adaptation
- Resource Management
- Sustainability
HOW IS THIS QUALIFICATION TAUGHT AND ASSESSED?
In KS4 students are taught the AQA GCSE Geography course. This comprises of three examinations which are all sat in Year 11.
Paper 1 – Living with the Physical Environment (35%)
- 1 hour 30 mins.
- Paper 2 – Challenges in the Human Environment (35%)
1 hour 30 mins.
- Paper 3 – Geographical Applications (30%)
1 hour 15 mins.
At KS5 students follow the International Baccalaureate Geography SL course. This comprises of two examinations which are sat in Year 13, along with coursework which takes place during Year 12.
- Paper 1 – Geographic Themes (35%)
1 hour 30 mins. - Paper 2 – Challenges in the Human Environment (40%)
1 hour 15 mins.
Internal Assessment – Written report based on sand dune development fieldwork trip (25%)
What extra-curricular activities can students get involved in?
There are some extra-curricular activities that students can get involved in which link to Geography. We have a KS3 Geography club which runs weekly and is open to Y7-9. The school also has a group of students who are our Eco-Leaders, and they have a significant role encouraging our school to be more eco-friendly, and help maintaining and improving our own Nature Reserve. There are trips that run during year 10, 11 and 12 for students to engage in Geographical fieldwork which are outlined above, along with additional trips such as the Natural History Museum & London’s Sea Life Centre which are offered during the course.
What can my child do at home to improve his progress in this subject?
To improve progress in Geography it is vital that students keep up to date with current affairs. Students should aim to watch, listen, or read the news every week to understand what is going on in the world – there is always something going on which links to our learning!
There are also useful websites that can help to improve knowledge and skills such as Seneca Learning, BBC Bitesize & GCSE Pod. These are all linked from the NTC Student Launchpad.
WHERE DOES THIS TAKE ME?
Geography is a particularly valuable subject for a variety of careers due to the transferrable skills developed throughout the course such as written & verbal communication, data collection and handling, evaluation, and decision-making.
It also benefits subject-specific careers such as environmental planning, conservation, charity & NGO work, data analyst, ecology, resource management, water quality & energy exploration.
It is a popular IB subject in our sixth form, and many students also continue to study geography at A Level at other schools. It is one of a few subjects which is considered both a natural science and a social science and can therefore be studied as a BA or BSc at university.
HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE?
Speak to or email Mr Ray (raym@ntc.kent.sch.uk) or Ms Roche (rochea@ntc.kent.sch.uk)