Geography

Curriculum intent

The geography curriculum will ensure that pupils can make sense of the world around them. The curriculum will provide pupils with knowledge of a range of diverse places, people, resources, natural and human environments, and a deep understanding of the Earth’s physical and human processes. Pupils will develop the skills to be able to think like geographers, empowering them to critically engage with current and future geographical debates beyond the classroom. 

Entitlement

The geography curriculum meets and exceeds the requirements of the National Curriculum. It ensures that pupils develop a secure knowledge of a range of places, natural and human environments, with a deep understanding of the Earth’s physical and human processes. The geography curriculum ensures that all pupils understand the world in which they live, regardless of their starting point in Year 7 or whether they take the subject onto GCSE and beyond into higher education.  

Coherence

The curriculum takes a thematic approach, where knowledge is acquired, developed over time, and finally applied to places via in-depth case studies. Regional units allow the content covered throughout a year to be revisited, therefore securing the knowledge gained over the course of a year in the context of a particular place/ region.  

Mastery

The curriculum has been carefully sequenced to introduce pupils to a variety of places, geographical concepts, processes, and issues. The thematic approach ensures that knowledge is acquired, developed over time, then applied via in-depth case studies. Prior knowledge is regularly revisited throughout the curriculum where it is built upon and applied to new contexts. Each lesson fits inside the entire curriculum story and allows students to secure geographical knowledge and skills before moving on. For example, in year 7 students learn about development and how we categories countries development based on a range of information. At this point students apply their understanding to a range of different countries and contexts including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali, two countries found within the continent of Africa. This then supports their understanding when they move into year 8 when they start to learn about population and can apply their understanding when looking at population pyramids for Uganda.   

Adaptability

In Geography, we aim to deliver a curriculum which is accessible to all students, regardless of starting points. Lesson and curriculum resources are designed and adapted to meet the needs of the demographics and context of our school, and to ensure that local geographical issues are considered, including by visiting local areas to conduct fieldwork.  We intend that students will develop confidence in the subject and thrive on their love of learning. 

Representation

Our missions is to develop good people, and the skills learnt will enable students to enter the world beyond Heath Lane as a good citizen and a perceptive, adaptive and valued member of society. A diverse range of places, people and environments are encountered within the curriculum which helps pupils to develop a broad and balanced view of the world. The curriculum ensures a fair representation of the places studied to avoid a single story and to broaden pupil understanding of different people, places, and environments. Lesson materials are adapted to best suit the context of the pupils and communities which we serve.   

Education with character

The curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to share, reflect and learn about the different lived experiences for people at a local, national, and global scale. It also engages pupils with the big geographical debates of today and the future. This develops a fascination with place studies and allows pupils to take part in informed geographical conversations beyond the classroom/ curriculum. 

KS3 Curriculum roadmap / Year by year, term by term

The Geography curriculum starts in Year 7 with a unit of work introducing students to the Geographical skills required to be an effective learner in the subject. Moving from this, pupils then do a short introductory unit on climate change. Students are then introduced to the key unit of Development and the reasons behind inequality around the world. Students take a look at how water around the world is important in our Water and Rivers unit of work before looking in detail at current affairs in The Middle East. Finally, students study the World of Work and how people around the world have different occupations and why goods travel around the world.  

In Year 8 they develop physical geography skills further by studying units on Coasts, Tectonics, Global Ecosystems. And a deeper delve into  Climate Change They also investigate how Population changes around the world are impacting upon our way of life before finishing with a case study topic on the Geography of East Africa 

Moving into Year 9 students continue to build on their physical Geography knowledge studying weather and climate, and Glaciation and how it has impacted the UK and the rest of the world. Human Geography topics cover the importance and impact of Energy use, Urbanisation and the development of Emerging Countries. 

Students also have the opportunity to undertake their own fieldwork investigations around the school site in year 7 and 9 where they will develop the enquiry skills required for the investigations that take place in KS4. 

KS4 Curriculum roadmap / Year by year, term by term

Students can opt to continue their Geography studies at GCSE. At Heath Lane Academy we follow the Edexcel B GCSE Specification. 

  • Component 1: Global Geographical Issues - 1 hour 30-minute exam – 37.5% 
  • Component 2: UK Geographical Issues -1-hour 30-minute exam – 37.5% 
  • Component 3: People and Environment Issues - 1 hour 30-minute exam – 25% 

Component 1: Global Geographical Issues 

Topic 1: Hazardous Earth – How does the world’s climate system function and can be hazardous to people? How are extreme weather events hazardous to people and what are the causes and impacts of tectonic activity? 

Topic 2: Development dynamics – What is the scale of global inequality and how can it be reduced? How is one of the worlds emerging countries managing to develop? 

Topic 3: Challenges of an urbanising world – What are the causes and challenges of rapid urban change? Why does quality of life vary in one megacity? 

Component 2: UK Geographical Issues 

Topic 4: The UK’s evolving Physical Landscape – Why does the physical landscape of the UK vary from place to place? Why is there a variety of distinctive coastal landscapes in the UK and what are the challenges for coastal communities? 

Topic 5: The UK’s evolving Human Landscape – Why are people and places changing in the UK? How is a UK city changing? 

Topic 6: Geographical Investigations – Investigating river processes fieldwork. 

Investigating dynamic urban areas. This topic will include two fieldwork visits away from the school site. 

Component 3: People and Environment Issues 

Topic 7: People and the Biosphere – Why is the biosphere so important to human wellbeing and how do we use its resources? 

Topic 8: Forest Under Threat – What are the threats to forests and how can we reduce them? 

Topic 9: Consuming Energy Resources – How can the growing demand for energy be met without serious environmental consequences? 

Careers linking to the subject

The geography curriculum prepares pupils for careers whether decide to go into the field of geography or not. Most industries require people to have knowledge of the contemporary issues studied in geography such as climate change or globalisation. Furthermore, the skills learned in geography are highly sought after by employers. This includes the ability to analyse data, gather evidence to make decisions, carry out research (fieldwork), consider several arguments before making a judgement and applying maths to the real world.  

Below are some of the careers you can pursue with qualifications in Geography: 

  • Transport planner 
  • Urban town planner 
  • Air pollution analyst 
  • Nature conservation officer 
  • Environmental consultant 
  • Climate change analyst 
  • Landscape architect 
  • Meteorologist 
  • GIS officer 
  • Coastal engineer 
  • Environmental lawyer 
  • Disaster and emergency planner 

Key Contact

James Swann

Teacher in Charge

james.swann@heathlaneacademy.org.uk 

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