Geography is, quite simply, the study of the world and everything in it. Our aim is to inspire pupils to want to learn everything they can about their world and its people, and to leave with a better understanding of diverse places, people, resources, and environments. Our pupils will be able to make sense of the issues we currently face and know how to make positive choice for the future. Underpinning all of our areas of study are core concepts of locational knowledge, place knowledge, navigation and map skills, fieldwork, human geography and physical features and processes.
“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.” President Barack Obama
We begin Key Stage 2 with a study of North America followed by a study of North Africa, with a particular focus on Egypt. These units link closely to the key reads and to the History curriculum, helping develop schema. We end Year 5 by studying extreme environments, comparing polar regions with rainforest. In Year 6, we focus on the geography of our local area, before our study of mountain ranges. We end with our ‘Beside the Sea’ unit. Each unit develops disciplinary knowledge and allows for a study of both physical and human geography. Map skills are woven into the units.
In Year 7, we look at challenges facing the world, such as hazards caused by tectonic plates. We move on to study sustainability and then finish with a case study of India. In Year 8, we focus in on rivers and coasts, followed by an enquiry based around the Earth’s resources, and finish by examining the most extreme places on earth, considering how climate change may impact these places even further.
We encourage pupils to make links to other subjects, whether it be using grid references and therefore linking to Maths or by studying modern and Ancient Egypt and linking to History. Up to date geographical writing and scholarship is used in lessons. Fieldwork takes place both within our school grounds and through educational visits, with use of maps, data and research also embedded into the curriculum. All of this enhances our pupils’ cultural capital, helping them appreciate the wonder of the world and become responsible global citizens.
Please click here to view the Geography Handbook.
To view our Geography Learning Journey please click here.
Each lesson has recap, learning checks and a self-reflection, to ensure misunderstandings and misconceptions are identified and addressed through reteaching. After key tasks and assessments, pupils receive feedback and complete an improvement phase, to encourage a culture of continuous improvement and progress.
At both key stages we assess pupils’ understanding through two core assessments per unit, which check both substantive and disciplinary knowledge. These scores, along with judgements based on classwork, provide data which we then use to monitor progress at three data points throughout each year.
