Geography
Our aim is to provide students with core geographical knowledge, understanding and skills, which enables them to think critically and independently and form informed views – the ability to ‘think like a geographer’.
Students will have strong locational knowledge, cultural capital, and feel deep connections with people, place and the environment.
The Geography department aim to deliver a curriculum which is well sequenced, coherent, challenging and engaging, which will inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people which will positively impact their own lives and their understanding of the human and physical world.
Students foster a love of Geography and are prepared for their next steps in their education and in the real world as global citizens and life long learners.
Our 6 Departmental Core Values
Powerful knowledge – Geography is a complicated and intricate discipline that spans both the natural and social sciences. Our students will develop mechanisms to think about the world; place, space, interdependence. We equip our students with powerful ways to analyse, explain and understand the world we live in. We want our students to have the confidence to believe in their own knowledge and understanding and to engage in issues on a local, regional and global scale.
Geo-capabilities – sophisticated geo-capabilities highlight the value and role of Geography in the development of human capabilities. Powerful knowledge alongside a unique skill set: investigative fieldwork, analytical capabilities, ICT skills, confident decision making, challenging debate and robust discussion, all contribute to help our students fulfil their potential both in school and in their life beyond Sale Grammar School.
Real skills for real life – knowledge of the world contributes strongly to our students’ general knowledge, promoting greater understanding of people, place, environment and geo-politics. We want to take our students beyond their own personal experiences and open up their eyes and minds to possibilities that they have not even yet considered.
Stewardship for the 21st century – we aim to equip our students with the knowledge and skills to become successful global citizens. They will develop a perspective and understanding to recognise both spatial and temporal change. They will understand that change occurs at a range of scales from extremely local, through to regional, national and global. The stewardship and responsibility for the future of our planet belongs to all of us.
Enjoyment, interest and challenge – through sequences of learning
experiences, our students engage and identify their place and role in the world. Our curriculum builds on prior knowledge and also extends their experiences through challenging and interesting lessons. We aim to foster life-long learners of people, place and environment by extending students’ geographical understanding beyond the classroom.
Flexibility and independence – geographical ideas, concepts, theories and places all change over time. We aim to develop our students to embrace change with a flexible and independent approach to their studies. The breadth, balance, challenge and relevance of our geography curriculum will develop confident, responsible citizens who have the cultural capital to succeed in life and have the skills for future learning and employment.
Progression Through Geography
Our curriculum pathway is carefully sequenced to enable students to develop and refine the unique skill set that sets Geographers apart from other disciplines. The progression through our curriculum pathway present ideas which are complex, rigorous and empowering, enabling deeper thinking, critical thinking and an investigative approach. Geography is discipline which is constantly changing and evolving and we ensure that Geography at Sale Grammar School is current, relevant and related to the world that we live in.
Wider Learning Opportunities
In order to support and enhance the teaching of Geography, the department organises a range of extra-curricular activities. The curriculum is well supported by an extra curricular club ‘The Regenerators’ to imbed the importance of Geography and back up the taught curriculum. The members of the club are passionate about supporting and conserving our environment and community, and have organised and lead school wide litter picking events. They regularly organise and engage in quizzes, map work activities, debates and creative tasks. The Regenerators club has strong links to the Open University which can bring careers in Geography to students. As part of the new Year 7 curriculum, students conduct fieldwork around the school site to investigate microclimates as part of their Weather and Climate topic.
An international visit to Iceland is available to those students studying Geography at GCSE and A Level this takes place biannually. At GCSE, students take part in a physical Geography field trip to the sand dunes at Sefton coast, and human Geography investigating tourism in Bowness on Windermere. At A Level, students engage in a range of human and physical fieldwork, including a visit to Sefton coast, the Sharston waste recycling centre, and conduct local studies in a variety of locations including Altrincham and Salford.
listen, watch, read
Key Stage 3 Learning Objectives
Year 7
In Year 7, students study the topics of:
- What is a Geographer?
- Is Earth running out of natural resources?
- What is economy?
- Weather and climate
- South America .
Knowledge and understanding
- Give detailed descriptions of features, places and processes
- Give reasoned explanations
- Understand the differences between physical and human processes and describe the ways in which these processes interact and lead to change
- Recognise that different people will have differing viewpoints towards a geographical issue
- Start to use geographical vocabulary with confidence
- Start to explain their own views about geographical issues
Skills and application
- Start to suggest geographical questions and suggest ways of finding out the answers e.g. design a questionnaire, record the data in a table
- Use a wide range of map skills including direction, distance, grid references and photographs
- Demonstrate sound decision making skills using evidence and data
- Recognise that a geographical issue must be looked at from different points of view
- Choose different techniques to present data
- Interpret geographical evidence
- Reach their own conclusions that fit the evidence
- Present work well with good use of spelling, grammar and punctuation
Year 8
In Year 8, students study the topics of:
- The importance of rivers.
- What is development?
- Population change
- The geography of coasts.
- Asia
Knowledge and understanding
- Show good knowledge of geographical places and locations
- Show deepening knowledge and understanding of both physical and human processes and how they affect environments and place
- Use a wide range of geographical vocabulary appropriately
- Understand that people and places can be affected by actions and events, sometimes in other parts of the world
- Identify links between different aspects of geography
- Recognise that there are significant differences in standards of living and quality of life in different parts of the world
- Recognise that people hold different values and attitudes towards geographical issues and these may influence decisions made about places
- Group information into categories to show impacts
Skills and application
- Ask geographical questions and plan independent enquiries
- Recognise that a geographical issue may be represented by different points of view
- Select and use accurately a wide range of presentation skills
- Analyse and interpret geographical evidence
- Evaluate different sources of evidence e.g. maps, photos, graphs, websites
- Make informed decisions and draw conclusions about geographical questions and problems
- Present thorough and well-argued summaries of enquiries
- Present work carefully with a high level of accuracy of spelling, grammar and punctuation
Year 9
In Year 9, students study the topics of:
- Plate tectonics
- Africa
- Ice and a changing world
- Middle East
- Climate change: the future of our Earth
Knowledge and understanding
- Show thorough knowledge of geographical places and locations
- Demonstrate deep knowledge and understanding of both physical and human processes
- Have extensive geographical vocabulary and be able to use terminology appropriately
- Show clear understanding of relationships between both physical and human processes and how these affect places and environments
- Show detailed links between topics
- Account for inequalities in development and recognise the complexity of factors that contribute to differing standards of living and quality of life
- Understand causes and consequences of geographical issues
- Recognise different points of view and different approaches to tackling problems
- Categorise and evaluate consequences
Skills and application
- Show independence in identifying appropriate geographical questions and issues
- Represent different points of view and perspectives
- Critically evaluate, analyse and interpret a very wide range of geographical evidence
- Use evidence to make judgments and draw conclusions about geographical questions and problems
- Present full and coherent argued summaries of independent enquiries and reach substantiated conclusions
What should students know/be able to do by the end of KS3?
- Developed maps skills, graphicacy and spatial thinking, with the ability to construct, understand and interpret maps, graphs, data and photographs
- Describe and analyse the spatial patterns and organisation of people, places, resources and environments on Earth.
- Have a clear locational knowledge at a local, national and global scale
- Understand the processes behind key physical and human geographical features, how these are interdependent and interconnected, and how and why things differ from place to place on the surface of the earth.
- Have good spatial awareness and are very secure in their ability to locate the places they are studying.
- Have a good understanding of the great differences in cultures, political systems, economies, landscapes and environments across the world, and the links between them.
- Can explain various ways in which places are linked and the impact such links have on people and environments.
- Have a good understanding how places around the world have changed and developed over time
- Have a substantial geographical terminology and can use it to communicate geographical ideas through discussion, debate and extending writing
- Can critically consider a range of view points, are able to evaluate and compare, and come to their own well reasoned, justified and supported conclusions and decisions
Key Stage 4 Learning Objectives
Assessment and structure of course
Assessment is based on three examinations at the end of Year 11.
Paper 1 - Physical Geography (35% of the GCSE)
Study areas include:
- The Challenge of Natural Hazards
- The Living World
- Physical Landscapes in the UK
Paper 2 – Human Geography (35% of the GCSE)
Study areas include:
- Urban Issues and Challenges
- The Changing Economic World
- The Challenge of Resource Management
Paper 3 – Applied Geography (30% of the GCSE)
Study areas include:
- Issue Evaluation
- Skills
Fieldwork enquiry (this will involve two geography field trips over the two-year course, one in a physical environment and one in a human environment).
| Fieldwork | |
|---|---|
| KS4 |
Human Geography field investigation (Bowness, Lake District National Park). Physical Geography field investigation (Ainsdale Dunes, Sefton Coast) Study Skills after school support |
Our curriculum pathway is carefully sequenced to enable students to develop and refine the unique skill set that sets Geographers apart from other disciplines. The progression through our curriculum pathway present ideas which are complex, rigorous and empowering, enabling deeper thinking, critical thinking and an investigative approach. Geography is discipline which is constantly changing and evolving and we ensure that Geography at Sale Grammar School is current, relevant and related to the world that we live in.
Key Stage 5 Learning Objectives
The Course
Students will be taught by two specialist teachers, one for Physical Geography and one for Human Geography.
There are 3 components to the A-Level course.
Component 1: Physical Geography
- Water and carbon cycles
- Coastal landscapes
- Hazards
Assessment: 2hr 30min examination
40% of the qualification
Component 2: Human Geography
- Global systems and governance
- Changing places
- Population and the environment
Assessment: 2hr 30min examination 40% of the qualification
Component 3: Fieldwork investigation
Students must undertake a minimum four days fieldwork (over the two years). During these fieldwork days students will undertake investigations in both Physical and Human Geography.
From their fieldwork experience, students will have developed the skills to complete an individual investigation. This must be based on data collected in the field. The individual investigation must be based on a question or issue defined and developed by the student relating to any part of the specification content.
Assessment: 4000 words Internally marked and externally moderated 20% of the qualification.