Geography
To find out more, click on the appropriate heading below.
Starting in year 7, you will learn important key geographical skills as well as interactions between the human and physical environment.
Below is a summary of the course.
Aims:
- To develop pupils’ geographical skills through careful selection, interpretation and evaluation of a variety of types of geographical evidence.
- To develop an understanding of the world around us in its local, national and international dimensions through studies of key geographical processes.
| Approx Timings | Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 |
| Sept-Oct | Making and mapping connections | Population and urbanisation | Natural and tectonic hazards |
| Oct-Dec | Making and mapping connection / Rivers and hydrology | Population and urbanisation / Coasts | Natural and tectonic hazards urban issues and challenges |
| Dec-Feb | Rivers and hydrology | Coasts | Urban issues and challenges |
| Feb-April | Coping with floods | Economic activity and its sectors | Ecosystems (tropical rainforests) |
| April-June | Rocks, weathering and soil | Glaciation | Ecosystems (tropical rainforests / The challenge of resource management |
| June-July | Africa case study | Asia case study | The challenge of resource management |
Assessment
Pupils have a written assessment at the end of each unit, as well as a formal examination during exam week in year 7, 8 and 9. Progress is reported to parents through interim and full written reports and discussed at Parent’s evenings. Targets are recorded and reviewed in planners after each unit.
This qualification is linear. Linear means that students will sit all their exams at the end of the course.
Subject content
Paper 1 – Living with the physical environment
Section A: The challenge of natural hazards (tectonic hazards; weather hazards; climate change)
Section B: The living world (ecosystems; tropical rainforests; hot deserts or cold environments)
Section C: Physical landscapes in the UK and two units from coastal landscapes; river landscapes; glacial landscapes
There is a 1 hour 30 minutes written examination for this section, comprising 35% of the total marks.
Paper 2 – Challenges in the human environment
Section A: Urban issues and challenges (urbanisation; case study of city in the less developed world; case study of a city in the more developed world; sustainability)
Section B: The changing economic world (measuring development; reducing the development gap; the economy of a less developed city; the economy of a UK city)
Section C: The challenge of resource management and one unit from food; water; energy
There is a 1 hour 30 minutes written examination for this section, comprising 35% of the total marks.
Paper 3 – Geographical applications
Section A: Issue evaluation (critical thinking and problem solving tasks. The assessment will provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate geographical skills and applied knowledge and understanding by looking at a particular issue(s) derived from the
specification using secondary sources).
Section B: Fieldwork (2 geographical enquiries need to be done based on fieldwork done outside the classroom)
There is a 1 hour 15 minutes written examination for this section, comprising 30% of the total marks and this is based on an issue evaluation, fieldwork and geographical skills.
