Geography
Welcome to the Geography Department
Subject Leader
Curriculum Intent
The Geography curriculum is designed to embed the key knowledge at the heart of the phenomena that student’s study throughout their time at The Warriner School. At KS3 the curriculum has been designed to build upon students understanding of humanities taught at KS2 and to develop a sound foundation to build on at KS4. The knowledge we want student to know is carefully selected, so that students have the foundation for later success.
Students will initially study an introductory topic helping them develop the key knowledge they will need to be successful in Geography at secondary school. Students will begin with a unit called 'What is Geography' developing their disciplinary knowledge in questioning and writing like a geographer, in addition to procedural knowledge of practicing mapping within the context of different locations around the world. They move on to Extreme Weather, where do I live? and a geographical enquiry.
As students’ progress into Year 8 they will continue to build on the fundamental knowledge from Year 7. Students will build on their study topics including the Global Connections, Crime, Energy and Climate and Population. Curriculum mapping demonstrates the declarative knowledge that we expect students to know.
In Year 9 students are build upon their existing knowledge and stretch to new topics including Globalisation, Tectonics, Coasts and Global Challenges.
The spiral curriculum we have designed is structured to allow students to revisit previous learning to allow a deeper understanding of the declarative and procedural knowledge needed to successfully navigate our world. At KS4 we follow the Edexcel A specification which allows students to explore both human and physical geography in equal depth.
Students study physical topics which include Changing UK Landscapes, Weather hazards and climate change, Ecosystems, Biodiversity and Management as well as the human topics of Changing cities, Global Development and Resource Mangement. They are able to develop their procedural knowledge of fieldwork through two trips - one to a river or coastal environment to study the changing landscapes of UK environments and a second to a local city to consider the success of regeneration.
Disciplinary and procedural knowledge is woven into the KS3 and KS4 curriculum to allow students opportunity to apply their declarative knowledge to practical and analytical situations. Throughout all key stages a high emphasis is placed on Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary which allow students to access scientific text.
Key Stage 3
Year 7:
What is Geography? - Amazing Places Map Skills - My Place in the World - Extreme Weather and Flooding - Is the Warriner a Good Place to Learn?
Year 8 :
Global Connections - Climate Change and the Impacts - Population - Extreme Weather - Fantastic Physical Places (Biomes)
Year 9: Crime: a local area investigation - The Global Shift - Global Challenges - Risky World (Tectonics)
Key Stage 4
At GCSE we follow the Edexcel A specification which is divided into a Physical Geography exam, a Human Geography exam and an investigations paper linked to fieldwork and challenges in the UK. This is examined through end of year 11 exams only.
The physical topics are: Coasts; Rivers; Weather and Climate; and Biodiversity.
The human topics are: changing cities; global development; and resource management linked to either energy or water.
We conduct 2 local area investigations. A rivers study that takes place in a channel near to school and an urban investigation conducted in Birmingham. Both take place in early Year 11.
Examination Information
GCSE
EdExcel A
A Level
EdExcel
Other Information
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In Year 9 pupils use an Enrichment Day to investigate the impact of tourism on Stratford-upon-Avon. In Year 10 pupils investigate redevelop on a day trip to Brindley Place in Birmingham. In Year 12 students go on a 3-day residential field trip to the Peak District and Sheffield to investigate rebranding and managing the risk of flooding.