Geography
Geography
Mr. A. Pritchard (Head of Geography, RE)
Mr. A. Gould (Geography, RE,)
Don't forget………… without Geography, you are nowhere!!!!
In the Geography Department we provide a course which allows students to make sense of a complex and dynamically changing world. We use a wide variety of teaching methods to enable students to build on their own experiences, in order to investigate places and issues on all scales, from personal to global. To support the course we offer a number of fieldwork opportunities, enabling pupils to develop their abilities in investigation and critical thinking related to people's lives now and in the future.
KS3:In years 7-9, pupils study a range of geographical themes covering a wide variety of topical and relevant issues. From working out carbon footprints and understanding the importance of being more sustainable to a consideration of crime and an investigation entitled “How aware of crime is Harleston?”
Year 7:
Dangerous Geography – Natural Hazards, with a focus on hurricanes as they become a more frequent force on our planet.
Settlement – Understanding what influences the places in which we live. A trip to Norwich city football club and the Riverside area takes place here.
How big is Your Foot? – The importance of being sustainable and recognising the impact that we have on the environment.
Investigating Weather – We talk about weather every day, but what controls it? A chance not only to find out, but also to get outside and measure it!
Extreme Environments – A closer look at the places we would rather not live in. The focus here is deserts.
Agriculture in Norfolk – It’s the most important industry in this part of the world, so we look at why this is and combine (no pun intended!) the work with a trip to the Royal Norfolk Show.
Year 8:
Tourism: Home and Away – The fastest growing industry in the world. We study aspects of tourism both at a local and a global scale.
Living on the edge: Plate Tectonics – Getting to grips with volcanoes and earthquakes. How do people who are affected by these hazards cope with them?
Saving Planet Earth: The Chewing Gum Problem – This unit draws on a variety of aspects of Geography using gum as a focus. Looking at how gum is made, to the location of chewing gum factories.
Population – A look at what is happening to population both locally and globally, and what the likely impacts of continued world population growth will be over the next 50 years.
Coasts – A study of the processes which give our coastlines their shape, but also how coasts are protected and the politics involved in coastal protection in Norfolk – a trip to the North Norfolk Coast here is made to learn and enhance decision making skills.
Football and Fashion – Do the teams with the biggest stadiums have the best teams? Why is football a global industry? What are the impacts of foreigners in the national game? All these questions answered.
Year 9:
Managing popular environments (UK) – A focus on the Norfolk Broads and Thetford forest. Two of Norfolk’s most popular environments.
Global Issues – We are living in a time of rapid change. This is a chance for students to address some of the planet's big issues and how they influence events and changes on a global scale.
Crime – This unit focuses on the Geography of Crime. Where does crime happen and how can it be reduced?
Coping with floods – With flooding becoming more and more frequent, this unit focuses on why floods happen and what can be done to prevent them.
Is the World Fair – This unit focuses on development and the differences between the rich world and the poor world.
Urban Problems and solutions – With many people now living in urban areas problems such as pollution, crime and congestion are increasing. We visit London to support work on this unit.
KS4:
Geography at KS4 is a popular and successful option. Results are often above both the school and national averages and students regularly find that Geography is one of their highest grades. There is still a 25% coursework requirement for the syllabus we follow and students have the opportunity to visit both Haworth and Malham, in Yorkshire in order to collect the data they need to complete this piece of work. This is a memorable experience and many past students recall this trip as the highlight of their Geography career so far……
Topics:
Year 10 - Tourism and managing resources - Settlement - Rivers - Coursework in summer term.
Year 11 - Industry - Coasts - Tectonic Activity The range of skills that geographers acquire are much sought-after by employers and geography students have access to a wide variety of careers. Geography provides experience of a variety of general skills including written and oral presentation, teamwork, problem-solving, numeracy, computing, graphics, mapping, survey methods and research skills. Geographers are adaptable and can be easily trained, while their broad understanding and range of approaches to the world and its problems are relevant to many different jobs.
