Geography

At Stanborough we aim to provide students with a range experiences that will improve and advance their contextual understanding of the world. Our aims are to give students the chance to demonstrate their knowledge of location, places, and geographical features; understand the processes and interactions that explain these features, distributions and patterns over time and space and develop competence and skills in the geographical enquiry process such as observing, collecting, analysing, mapping and communicating geographical information. We aim for all students to be able to understand how they can apply their geographical knowledge and skills so that they can carry on and be successful in to their future both in school and beyond.

Head of department: Mr D Cunningham
Email: DCunningham@stanborough.herts.sch.uk

What will students study?

In KS3:

Through the course of Key Stage 3 students will study a range of geographical ideas and concepts which will introduce them to a variety of geographical skills. As they progress through Years 7 and 8 these will become more challenging. Subjects over the course of the two years will include ideas and themes based around some of the following:

Atlas and map skills
Mapping data with Geography of crime data
Weather and climate and climatic hazards-causes effects and responses
Population and population movement mapping of migration
Ecosystems and biomes and distribution and processes
Tourism
River processes and impacts of flooding and management
Business geography of location and impacts of industry on an area
Tectonic hazards
International development and fair trade
Coasts

In KS4:
Students who choose to do geography for GCSE will follow the AQA ‘A’ Geography specification.
Over the course of Years 9 -11 they will study geographical concepts and ideas associated with the following titles:
Living world
Natural hazards
Physical landscapes
Urban issues
Changing economic world
Resource management

As always a variety of geographical skills will be practised and tested throughout each unit of work. Students will also have to carry out a geographical investigation and write up a piece of coursework and this will form the basis of their third exam. It is therefore important that they are able to describe, explain and justify every step of the investigation that they carry out.

In KS5:

Students studying A Level Geography will again study the AQA ‘A’ Geography specification. This course will require them to increase their depth
and breadth of geographical understanding.

They will study:
The water & carbon cycles
Glacial systems and landscapes
Hazards
Global systems and global governance
Changing places
Population and the environment

As with Key Stage 4 there will be a residential field trip between Years 12 and 13 where the students will have to identify a geographical enquiry or question, devise and carry out a methodology to investigate that question and write it up in a 3-4,000 word report which will be marked in school and moderated by the exam board.

How can I support my child in this subject?

Support from home can take a variety of forms. Ensure your child has access to an atlas and reference books which can be used in conjunction with the internet (please do not rely on the internet for all enquiries). Encourage your child to take an interest in the major news stories of the day and see if they can link them to ideas covered in geography, even if it not a topic they are studying at the time. Watching documentaries and reading books/articles will help your child’s understanding. Encourage your child to try writing pieces of homework under timed conditions instead of using a word processor and check your child’s homework and question if there is sufficient effort gone into it. Check your child has followed the instructions on the homework brief to the letter. When possible ask your child what topics they are covering at the moment.

What equipment does my child need in this subject?

The minimum requirement for geography lessons your child will need is a blue or black ink pen for writing with a spare, a pencil for drawing sketches and diagrams and creating graphs and maps, a set of coloured pencils for colouring/shading your drawings (you should have at least six red, blue, green, brown, orange and yellow). This allows the student to highlight specific details or categorise data and encourages retention of facts as we tend to think in colours and images.

It is important to always have a fully stocked pencil case containing a ruler, rubber and pencil sharpener in your pencil case.

As students get older they will also need to have protractors and calculators as well for working out a variety of geographical related problems through skills e.g. population statistics. It is also useful to have a glue stick and a pair of craft scissors.

It is imperative that students always bring the necessary equipment to geography lessons. This includes their exercise books.

All the above are in line with the Stanborough school expectations.

We also feel that it is important for students to have access to an atlas at home so that they can use it to improve their spatial awareness of the world that we live in.

Celebrating successes in this subject

During term time reward points are given for good work, effort, improvement and presentation.

End of term certificates are also issued for these categories where they have been sustained. There are certificates and reward points for the winners of the Y8 Volcano Cake Competition which is also run as a house competition contributing to house points.

Every year the Christaller Geography award is given to celebrate the success of our most successful geography students at A level.

Extra-Curricular Activities and Visits

Throughout the academic year we endeavor to get each year group out of the classroom to do geography in the field. This may be done during lessons in the local area or through larger organised events. Year 7 will do an environmental survey of the local area around the school and Year 8 take a trip to the Earth Galleries at the Natural History Museum and if we can and undertake a small river enquiry on the River Lea.

In Year 8 we also hold the annual Y8 Great Volcano Cake Competition which provides us with the basis for our regular volcano day celebration.
This culminates in a fantastic display of volcanic eruptions in the main hall.

At Key Stage 4 and 5 there are compulsory units of work that include residential field trips as part of their exam preparation. At GCSE students usually undertake an enquiry into coastal features and coastal management in Norfolk, East Anglia. While at ‘A’ Level students will be required to carry out investigations into glacial landscapes and processes in the Lake District. There is also an urban landscape study day in London.

There are drop in session held every Monday and Tuesday between 3:00 – 4:00pm after school for anyone who wants help with homework, needs to complete work or catch up with work missed. These are open to all years.