Geography

The Geography Department is well established and teaches pupils from Year 7 to Upper VI. All pupils in Years 7 to 9 study Geography before it becomes part of the option scheme for GCSE and AS/A2 level. The scheme of work has been planned around interesting and topical issues. The content and skills re-enforce each other so that pupils feel they build up their knowledge and skills. A brief outline of the topics covered is given below:

Year/Exam Course

Main Areas Studied

7

Local area, map skills, volcanoes and earthquakes

8

Japan, British Isles

9

Development

GCSE

Climate and ecosystems, coasts and rivers, economic development, settlement

AS

Coastal and river environments, rural and urban environments

A2

Climate, weather and ecosystems, hazards, population and migration

Geography is about the world and so practical work outside the classroom is included as appropriate, for example, in Year 7 pupils study the local area and share a field trip in the Vale of the White Horse with the History Department and in the Sixth Form the students undertake fieldwork in a variety of locations as part of their Environmental Investigation.

Practical work also includes using maps and computers. Pupils are encouraged to research using the Internet and to present information to their classes using the interactive whiteboard.