Term DatesTerm Dates Staff IntranetStaff Intranet Student CentralStudent Central

St. George's Catholic School

Geography 

The study of geography is about more than just memorizing places on a map. It's about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents. And in the end, it's about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together.

Barack Obama

Geography develops pupil’s curiosity and fascination about the world in which they live. Our students have the opportunity to identify place, space and the environment and look at how people impact their surroundings.

The study of Geography provides an important link between the natural and social sciences. It allows pupils to explore different societies and cultures and understand the increasing links throughout the world.

Aims of St George’s Geography department:

  • To develop strong locational knowledge both locally and globally and be able to identify the difference between physical and human characteristics
  • To secure a strong knowledge of globes, maps and atlases and apply this knowledge both inside and outside of the classroom
  • To understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world
  • To understand of geographical information systems (GIS)
  • To communicate geographical information through maps, graphs and extended writing
  • To collect and analyse a range of data through experiences of fieldwork

Want to find out more? 
If you wish to find out more about Geography at St George’s please feel free to contact Ms L O'Sullivan at L.OSullivan@stgeorgesrc.org

KS3

KS3 Overview  

Year 7

Topics covered:  

  • Geographical skills
  • Threatened Places
  • The Hydrological Cycle and Rivers
  • Tropical Rainforests 
  • Settlements and Urbanisation
  • Local Study

Year 8

Topics covered:

  • Coasts
  • Tectonics
  • Trade and Globalisation
  • Africa: A continent of contrasts
  • Glacial Landscapes
  • Climate Change

Year 9:

Topics covered:

  • Tropical Rainforests
  • Migration
  • Conflict and Human Rights
  • Weather and Climate 
  • Population and Development
  • Tourism

Useful resources

http://www.channel4learning.com/sites/essentials/geography/index.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/
http://www.studentguide.org/geography-resources-maps-facts-for-students/
http://geography.learnontheinternet.co.uk/ks3/index.html 

Homework   

Pupils will receive one piece of Geography homework per week in Year 7 and 8 and two pieces in Year 9, which should take approximately thirty minutes to complete. Challenge homework is always provided, and students are encouraged to engage with it to help further develop their knowledge. Completion of challenge homework is always recognised and rewarded through the e-praise system.

Assessment details    

Students are levelled at the end of each half term. It is expected that all students will make two sub-levels of progress a year in order to reach their target grade. In order to support our students to do the very best they can, we have designed Geography assessments to be rigourous. We also prepare students for each assessment through mid-topic assessments and specially tailored revision guides. Throughout the year those who have reached or exceeded their targets will receive a reward trip or visit.

Trips

A selection of trips run across Years 7-9. Due to limited spaces, these trips are often run as reward trips for hard work, commitment and dedication. In recent years we have run trips such as visits to the Natural History Museum, The Crystal in East London and Orienteering. We aim to give all students the opportunity to experience Geography outside the classroom.

 

KS4

KS4 GCSE Overview

St George’s Geography department is following the AQA GCSE specification. Please see the course outline below:

Paper 1: Physical Geography

  • The Challenge of Natural Hazards
  • The Living World
  • Physical Landscapes in the UK (Rivers and Coasts)

Paper 2: Human Geography

  • Urban Issues and Challenges
  • The Changing Economic World
  • The Challenge of Resource Management (Food focus)

Paper 3: Geographical Application

  • Issue Evaluation (this is pre-release material)
  • Fieldwork

Revision guides for GCSE:

Please see the links provided to the revision guides for each of these topics below:

Living World

Physical landscapes of the UK Coasts

Physical landscapes of the UK Rivers

Resource Management Revision Guide

The Challenge of Natural Hazards Revision Guide

The Changing Economic World Revision Guide - updated

Urban Issues and Challenges Revision Guide

Assessment

All papers include a variety of question types, command words and tariffs. The smallest number of marks available for a question is 1 mark and the largest is 9 marks. There are two 9 mark questions in all 3 papers. This is where SPaG marks are awarded.

Paper 1: Physical Geography

  • Written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • 88 marks (including 3 marks for SPaG)
  • 35% of GCSE

Paper 2: Human Geography

  • Written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • 88 marks (including 3 marks for SPaG)
  • 35% of GCSE

Paper 3: Geographical Application

  • Written exam: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • 76 marks (including 6 marks for SPaG)
  • 30% of GCSE
  • Pre-release resources booklet made available 12 weeks before exam

Trips

Trips makes up an integral part of KS4 in Geography with Paper 3 assessing two episodes of Fieldwork students complete

  • Physical fieldwork: The River Thames, Rickmansworth. A study comparing the velocity, wetted perimeter and bedload size in the upper and middle course of a river
  • Human fieldwork: Stratford, East London. A study exploring the impacts of regeneration in Stratford
  • Please be aware that this situation may have changed in light of COVID 19.

Homework

Pupils will be set homework twice a week in Year 10 and Year 11 and should spend 30-40 minutes completing the tasks set. Additional reading will allow pupils to succeed and identify further the ways in which the environment and people are interconnected.

 

KS5

KS5 A-Level Overview

Edexcel course.

Paper 1: Physical Geography

  • Coastal Landscapes and change: Coastal zones are dynamic environments in which landscapes develop by the interaction of wind, waves, currents and terrestrial and marine sediments. The operation and outcomes of fundamental geomorphological processes and their association with distinctive landscapes are readily observable. Fieldwork will be carried out in this topic.
  • Tectonic Processes and Hazards: This topic focuses on the lithosphere and atmosphere, which intermittently but regularly present hazards to human populations. This topic enables students to explore the origins of these hazards and the various ways in which people respond and adapt to them.
  • Water and carbon cycles: this section focuses on the major stores of water and carbon at or near the Earth’s surface and the dynamic cyclical relationships associated with them. This topic explores the significance of the cycles at different scales and their relevance to wider geography.

Paper 2: Human Geography

  • Globalisation: Globalisation and global interdependence continue to accelerate, resulting in changing opportunities for businesses and people. Inequalities are caused within and between countries as shifts in patterns of wealth occur. Cultural impacts on the identity of communities increase as flows of ideas, people and goods take place.
  • Diverse Places:  Diverse Places offers students an overview of the key issues related to population dynamics and diverse communities, and the opportunities and challenges that stem from them.
  • Superpowers: the pattern and dominance of superpowers has changed over time. Superpowers and emerging superpowers have a very significant impact on the global economy and politics. These powers are frequently contested.
  • Health, Human Rights and Intervention: this topic challenges traditional definitions of development that are largely based on economic measures. This topic explores variations in the norms and laws of both national and global institutions that impact on decisions made at all scales from local to global.

Paper 3
This is a synoptic paper which is based on a geographical issue within a place-based context that links to the themes of the course.

Coursework
Students complete an individual investigation which must include 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

Paper 1: Physical geography

  • Written exam: 2 hour 15 minutes
  • 105 marks (30% of A-Level)
  • Question types: multiple-choice, short answer, levels of response and extended prose

Paper 2: Human Geography

  • Written exam: 2 hour 15 minutes
  • 105 marks (30% of A-Level)
  • Question types: multiple-choice, short answer, levels of response and extended prose

Paper 3: Synoptic paper 

  • Written exam: 2 hours and 15 minutes
  • 70 marks (20% of A-level)

Coursework (NEA)

  • 3,000 – 4,000 words
  • 60 marks (20% of A-level)

Trips

As part of their studies, students are required to conduct four days of fieldwork (both human and physical). These can take place in the following locations: Stratford, Walton-on-the-Naze, Bath and Bournemouth.

In 2019 year we took the year 12s on an overseas trip to Sorrento, Italy. Here we visited Mount Vesuvius, Pompeii and the Amalfi coast as well as greatly enjoying the local cuisine. We hope to run an overseas trip every 2 years, giving all Geography A-Level students the opportunity to go on one. However, this has changed in the light of COVID-19 pandemic and hope to have these up and running as soon as possible.

 

Careers

Geography allows pupils to understand and recognise important issues such as climate change, migration, environmental degradation, spatial epidemiology and inequalities, geography is one of the most relevant courses you could choose to study. 

The uptake of pupils studying Geography at GCSE and A Level at St George’s Catholic School is extremely high. Geographers are highly employable and collectively receive competitive graduate salaries. Above all, geographers have potential to be well-informed global citizens, using their unique combinations of knowledge and skills to make a positive contribution to contemporary society.

Geography provides pupils with knowledge and transferable skills that will reward them personally and advance them professionally. The department organises for guest speakers to come in and talk to pupils about their careers and work experience has also been organised for those students wishing to develop their geographical knowledge. In addition, the department informs pupils about the potential job avenues available for those students wanting a career in Geography. 

 

↑