Pupils should strengthen the knowledge and skills acquired at KS2 and use it to develop a substantive and disciplinary knowledge of the world around them. This will occur over the three years of KS3 through varied topics with the National Curriculum themes of locational knowledge, place knowledge, human and physical geography and geographical skills and fieldwork.

In Year 7 pupils will study:

• Our place in the world
• Rivers
• Africa
• Food Resources
• Cliff’s Farm Enquiry
• Earthquakes and volcanoes

In Year 8 pupils will study:

• Our Continent
• Coasts
• Marine Environments
• Urban Environments
• Preston CBD Field Trip
• Weather and Climate
• Asia

In Year 9 pupils will study:

• Our World
• Russia
• The Middle East
• Glaciation
• Climate Change
• The Economy

General Information

The AQA Specification is followed.

Geography is taught by specialist teachers in three 50 minute lessons per week.

The choice of course at GCSE aims to strengthen the knowledge and skills acquired at KS3 and to allow pupils to use prior knowledge to develop a substantive and disciplinary knowledge of the world around them. This will occur over two years at KS4.

AQA: “Students will travel the world from their classroom, exploring case studies in the United Kingdom (UK), higher income countries (HICs), newly emerging economies (NEEs) and lower income countries (LICs). Topics of study include climate change, poverty, deprivation, global shifts in economic power and the challenge of sustainable resource use. Students are also encouraged to understand their role in society, by considering different viewpoints, values and attitudes”. This course includes fieldwork.

Qualification Achieved

The qualification will be graded on a nine-point scale – where 9 is the best grade.

Unit/Papers

Paper 1 –  Living with the Physical Environment 35% (1 hour 30 minute exam)

• The Challenge of Natural Hazards (earthquakes, volcanoes, tropical storms, extreme weather and climate change).
• The Living World (Tropical Rainforests and Hot Deserts).
• Physical Landscapes in the UK (coasts and rivers).

Paper 2 –  Challenges in the Human Environment 35% (1 hour 30 minute exam)

• Urban Issues and Challenges (Rio de Janeiro and a UK City)
• The Changing Economic World (Nigeria and the UK)
• The Challenge of Resource Management (focus on water).

Paper 3 –  Geographical Application 30% (1 hour 15 minute exam)

• Issue evaluation –  a decision making exercise based on a pre-release resource booklet issued 12 weeks before the exam
• Fieldwork –  two local fieldwork studies that investigate a human topic and a physical topic.  The methods and processes used in the completion of fieldwork will be assessed in this written examination.

Geographical skills will be examined throughout each of the three papers.

We are proud of Geography’s inclusion within the English Baccalaureate and its importance in the holistic development of students.  This exciting and relevant course studies the subject in a balance framework of physical and human themes and investigates the link between them.