Staff

Our Head of Geography is Miss R L Windmill

Facilities

Geography is taught in specialist teaching rooms, by six enthusiastic full-time Geographers.

Curriculum

Lower School

At KS3 we offer a broad curriculum to build a foundation of geographical skills, showcasing how geographical issues are intertwined within the lives we lead, and inspiring pupils to reflect on their position within a global society. We interweave concepts from the GCSE syllabus throughout KS3, to enable pupils to make an informed choice when selecting their GCSE subjects.

Topics taught include:

Third Form - Rivers; Geographies of Sport; Africa

Shell Form – Population and Urbanisation; Glaciation; The Middle East

Fourth Form – The Development Gap; Ecosystems; Tropical Rainforests; Cold Environments

GCSE

Geography at GCSE follows the AQA A GCSE specification, encompassing a broad range of human and physical topics. These range from the UK landscape, rivers and coasts and global ecosystems, through to world development and urbanisation, changing global economies and resource management. Lessons incorporate skills such as communication, application of numbers, information technology, problem solving and group work. Consequently, GCSE geography encourages the development of a wide range of cartographic, graphic, statistical and research skills to assess and clarify geographical issues.

Sixth Form

At A Level we deliver the Edexcel specification, encompassing an issue based approach to contemporary challenges, including water and carbon management, geopolitics, migration, sovereignty and human rights, through to managing sea level rise and the climate crisis. Students who study Geography gain a wealth of experiences, and we encourage an independent orientated approach towards learning.

Our aim is to facilitate students gaining an understanding of the physical and human processes that affect places and people, together with the opportunities, challenges and constraints that people face in different places and environments, and how people respond to change. The content is contemporary and vibrant, drawing on issues and events reported in the media.

Click here to Learn more about Geography in the Sixth Form

 

Co-curricular Activities

Trips & Visits

We currently undertake residential field work in the Summer Term to Nettlecombe Court in Somerset, supporting the fieldwork element of the GCSE course. This gives excellent access to the Somerset coast, where we investigate coastal processes and management techniques. We also visit Taunton to evaluate the success of urban regeneration programmes. 

At A Level we undertake residential field work during the Easter Term, at Castle Head in the Lake District. Pupils experience a wide range of fieldwork techniques, in order to inspire them for their own independent investigation. This investigation allows students to conduct research within a geographical area of which they have a keen interest, leading to a range of projects encompassing a broad range of topic areas. This complemented by local visits, revision conferences and guest speaker events, which run throughout the A Level course.

Currently, there is a biannual visit to Iceland, the most recent having taken place during October half-term 2022. Alongside this, fieldwork opportunities at a more local scale are integrated within each Key Stage.

Destinations

Geography is known as a ‘facilitating subject’, due to the range of skills required within the geography courses on offer. Our Geography qualifications enable you to gain a broad understanding of local, national and global issues, and consequently, complement both science and arts-based subjects. With one of the highest employment rates within university education, Geography courses can lead to a plethora of careers; law, accounting, town planning, architecture, teaching, social services, and politics are by no means a comprehensive list. For more information in regards to where geography can take you, please contact a member of the Geography department who would be happy to help!