Key Stage 3:
The topics studied in Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 are designed to give students the best experience of geography to inspire their curiosity and passion for the subject. Geography is important in an increasingly shrinking world due to the improvements in travel, technology and communications and it is essential that students are prepared for this. This curriculum has been crafted to give students the first step in their knowledge of geography. It is also excellent for providing a foundation should students wish to study it further on at GCSE/ A-Level. KS3 geography also allows students to experience field trips out to investigate their geography further.
Highlights include: Trying FairTrade food, measuring the micro-climate of Kingsley Academy, making a volcano explode and trying Chinese food!
- Map skills – compass directions, locational knowledge, how to start an enquiry and extract information
- Water – Water cycle, how rivers work, how humans use water, flooding in developing/ developed countries and drought in developed/ developing countries (including a trip to Pangbourne)
- Kenya – where is it, what is the lifestyle like there, state of development, tourism, national parks and what will happen to Kenya in the future
- Trade and Farming – what is trade, trade between countries, FairTrade, how has farming changed over time
- Japan - where is it, what is the lifestyle like there, state of development, tourism, ageing population problems
- Weather – difference between weather and climate, weather symbols, measuring weather in school, what’s happening to the climate, global warming
- Hazards – why do earthquakes and volcanoes happen, plate movement, types of volcanoes, how do they affect people, case studies of earthquakes and volcanoes
- China - where is it, what is the lifestyle like there, state of development, propaganda, One Child Policy, Three Gorges Dam development, Olympic Games
- Coasts – waves, coastal processes, landforms, weathering, erosion, how do people use the coast, how to protect the land from the sea, conflicts at the coast,
Key Stage 4 - GCSE
Exam board: Edexcel B
This is a new course starting in September 2016. It is designed to allow students to experience the world around them and builds on skills and knowledge learnt in KS3 as well as setting the foundation for students who wish to study it at KS5. The course is designed to be relevant to students and let them use their own local knowledge and understanding to investigate and research. This course also offers a minimum of 2 days fieldwork at two different locations, allowing students to experience new horizons.
The GCSE course will comprise of 3 exams of two years.
Paper 1: (37.5%)
· Hazardous Earth e.g. earthquakes and volcanoes
· Development dynamics e.g. inequality and developing countries
· Challenges of an urbanising world e.g. increase in population and megacities
Paper 2: (37.5%)
· Coastal change and conflict e.g. processes and landforms
· The UK’s evolving human landscape e.g. how London has changed
· Geographical investigations e.g. research of fieldwork from both locations
Paper 3: (25%)
· People and the biosphere e.g. how humans use the earth
· Forests under threat e.g. deforestation of the tropical rainforest
· Consuming energy resources e.g. oil supplies are running out
Useful websites for revision/ help at KS4 geography: