Geography
Geography’s intent: at KNGS aims to provide an up-to-date, exciting and adventurous curriculum, creating a deep understanding of pressing global, national and local issues, in order to unlock future opportunities. A living, breathing subject, exploring our human and physical world, it is our aim that students gain the knowledge of how these worlds interlink. Also, to develop courage to exercise their responsibility as global citizens in the twenty first century, allowing them to flourish in today’s ever-changing world.
The core concepts
- The KS3-5 curriculum is underpinned by the geographical core concepts;
- Locational knowledge,
- Place knowledge,
- Human and physical geography
- Geographical skills and fieldwork
- These concepts are interleaved throughout KS3, 4 and 5 and build in depth, complexity and challenge as their geography education progresses. This aims to support understanding and application right from Y7 through to Y13.
- Students are encouraged to consider today’s rapidly changing world through engaging with current affairs and develop an understanding about the processes that have shaped our planet.
Facilities and Accommodation
Geography is predominantly in one subject specific classroom and has access to a suite of laptops for frequent independent learning activities that utilises ICT. It integrates the opportunity to utilise technology such as GIS. There are also opportunities to complete practical work outside of the classroom and learn by active investigation through fieldwork.
KS3 Curriculum
KS3 Geography aims to inspire curiosity and fascination about the world and its people and equip students for effective learning at KS3 and beyond as they build the foundations for success. Interwoven into each topic are the core concepts of Locational knowledge, Place knowledge, Human and physical processes and geographical skills and fieldwork including geographical skills such as scale, interpretation of a range of sources such as maps, diagrams, graphs and aerial photographs. Assessment focuses on these core skills and develops students’ short and long answer response which build in depth, complexity and challenge as KS3 progresses.
In Year 7, Geography is taught for 2 hours a week.
The Year 7 curriculum covers 5 main units:
- Map Skills
- Amazing Africa
- Geography of Crime
- Fashion and Fairtrade
- Weather and climate
In Year 8, Geography is taught 4 hours a week. 2 singles and 1 double lesson.
The Year 8 curriculum covers 2 main units:
- Natural Hazards
- climatic and tectonic hazards
- structure of the earth and tectonic theory, plate boundaries
- Causes, impacts and response to a range of hazards
- Range of hazard profiles
- Urbanisation
- natural increase and rural to urban migration
- opportunities and challenges because of growth
- Case Study: Tokyo and Dhaka as megacities
- urban planning and sustainability
In Year 9 Geography is taught one hour a week throughout the year, with a 2nd hour every other week. This switches with history at the end of each half term.
The Year 9 curriculum covers 2 main units. Then in the summer term, GCSE content begins following option choice between history and geography (if students choose both, a P6 is held)
- Global Biomes
- Distribution of global biomes,
- Adaption within select biomes,
- causes and impacts of deforestation,
- Conservation and sustainable management of forests
- Global Futures
- The natural and enhanced greenhouse effect (EGE), impacts, uncertainty and solutions to climate change.
- Relationship between poverty and disease, Case studies; Ebola
- Global Inequality (GCSE Paper 1 Section B EQ1)
- Different ways of defining and measuring development,
- Theories in how inequality can be reduced,
- Approaches to development
KS4 Curriculum
Exam board: Edexcel B
GCSE GEOGRAPHY COMPRISES OF 3 UNITS
Unit 1: Global Geographical Issues – Written examination: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Topic 1: Hazardous Earth
- Topic 2: Development dynamics
- Topic 3: Challenges of an urbanising world
Unit 2: UK Geographical Issues – Written examination: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Topic 4: The UK’s evolving physical landscape – including Coastal change and conflict and River processes and pressures.
- Topic 5: The UK’s evolving human landscape –Dynamic UK cities.
- Topic 6: Geographical investigations – including a physical rivers fieldwork investigation to Carding Mill Valley and a human urban fieldwork investigation to Birmingham.
Unit 3: People and Environment Issues – Making Geographical Decisions– Written examination: 1 hour and 30 minutes
- Topic 7: People and the biosphere
- Topic 8: Forests under threat
- Topic 9: Consuming energy resources
All units are assessed by exam at the end of Year 11.
KS5 Curriculum
Homework
Homework is set regularly and there is an expectation that it is completed on time and to a high standard. It involves a range of activities such as researching a recent topical geographical event, preparing revision material and then revising for an assessment, or answering practice exam questions.
Extra-curricular activities
Geography provides a number of enrichment opportunities through fieldtrips and fieldwork in the school grounds. For example, Year 10 spend a day conducting human fieldwork in Birmingham and physical rivers fieldwork to Carding Mill Valley to support their geographical investigations component of Paper 2. Year 12 visit the coast for coastal fieldwork and they consider coastal landscape systems, processes and change and how coastal towns have been regenerated.