Geography

Geography is part of the Humanities Faculty

Staff

• Miss N Wood - Head of Humanities
• Mr R Percy
• Miss S Hudson 
• Miss C Priestley

 

Key Stage 3

Geography is part of our everyday lives, we aim to help students discover the world around them. We try to help them appreciate their surroundings and see the world in a different, more inquisitive way.

During KS3 students will study a wide variety of topics which include the following:

Our Place

An introduction to our surroundings. Our location both locally and globally and some basic map skills. Fieldwork is introduced at a local scale.

Fantastic Places

A unit looking at the weird and wonderful places and phenomenon around the world. A real opportunity for students to ask geographical questions finding an interest in distant places and experiences beyond their own.

Africa – a diverse Continent

A unit which examines the physical and human Geography of the continent. Students will examine some of the common misconceptions and gain a much more detailed understanding of one of the most diverse continents on the planet.

Adventure landscapes

A new unit which looks specifically at a spectacular landform which is created by water – caves. We examine the area of Cheddar Gorge in detail and the landscapes rivers create.

Risky Places

Students look at the continents of North and South America and examine the range of hazards that are found there and work towards determining where the ‘safest’ place to live is.

Jungle Journeys

Students will study the Amazon rainforest and investigate how we interact with it. They will understand the complex issues surrounding this global ecosystem and evaluate the conservation programs that have been introduced.

Weather and Climate

Students will investigate the following questions: Why is our weather so changeable? What is weather? What are extreme events and why do they occur? Why is our weather and climate changing? What are the impacts of climate change?

 

Key Stage 4

The current Year 9 and 10's will study the new Edexcel B Geography. They will study the following topics:

Hazardous earth

This topic looks at physical processes and how they can be hazardous for people. There are three parts; the global circulation of the atmosphere, a detailed study of tropical cyclones and a detailed study of tectonic activity.

Development Dynamics

This topic looks at the scale of global inequality in terms of development, and how inequality can be reduced. Students will investigate what factors hinder development in some of the world’s poorest countries. They will cover a detailed study of how an emerging country is developing, and the impact this has on people the environment and the country’s relationship with the wider world.

Challenges of an urbanising world

This topic looks at urbanisation, the growth in the percentage of people living in towns and cities. Students investigate rapid urbanisation and study how this varies around the world. It looks at the causes and challenges of urban change. Students will develop a detailed study on a megacity in a developing or emerging country.

The UK’s evolving physical landscape

This topic is about how the UK’s physical landscape has evolved over time and place. Students will investigate the dynamic coastlines surrounding the UK; from the processes to the landscapes they produce. They will study the challenges and conflicts of coastal management. Students will also study the river landscapes within the UK and investigate the processes, and challenges of managing rivers.

The UK’s evolving human landscape

The topic is about the UK’s human landscape- its places and people and how they have evolved. Students will study a major city which looks at how the city is changing, the challenges and opportunities this creates and the relationship between cities and rural areas.

People and environment issues – Making geographical decisions

This topic is an overview of global biomes (large-scale ecosystems) and why the biosphere is important to human well-being. It looks at the global distribution and characteristics of biomes, and how humans use and change the biosphere to obtain resources. The topic looks at the threats to the Tropical rainforest and taiga forest. It looks at the processes, interactions and issues related to their biodiversity, the threats faced, and their sustainable use and management.

 

Rivers and Coasts

Learn why our climate is so variable and what is responsible for the extreme events we have had recently. Can we truly predict weather or is it a series of random events? Investigate the devastating impact of drought and flooding in rich and poor countries. Investigate how we cope with weather and how some of our management strategies might make things worse!

Population and Settlement

We learn about where people live and why. Finding out why people migrate and the effects of migration on different places. We discover more about the global phenomenon of urbanisation and its problems, and the range of solutions used in rich and poor countries.

Natural Hazards

We learn where and why natural disasters happen and we look at how we can manage the impact of natural disasters and discover if climate change will make the situation worse!

Economic Development

We learn what the difference is between rich and poor countries. Find out about trade and the relationships between rich and poor countries. Discover how relief aid works and why poor countries remain less well off.

 

Key Stage 5

Studying the EDEXCEL A level Geography aims to provoke and answer a wide range of questions about the natural and human worlds, using different scales of enquiry to view them from different perspectives. Students examine a variety of topics and issues.

• the forces influencing our natural environment and our interaction with it. We focus on three main issues: Global Climate Change, Living with Risk and Hazards and our extreme weather;

• the issues affecting people and the places where they live. How cities and the countryside are changing. Why are they changing?

• the economic forces that drive the world economy, and how places are forced to change or rebrand. The development of the world's cities and the contrast between rich and poor;

• how decisions are made about the exploitation and management of resources, and who makes these decisions.

 

Extra Curricular

The Geography Department offer a range of extra-curricular trips and visits. Fieldwork is compulsory at GCSE and A level and day and evening lectures are encouraged at the RGS.

We have an Eco-Champions group, which is open to all students throughout the school who are interested in making our school a little ‘greener’. The students are part of an action team who work together to change the way we operate in school. This year our focus is on biodiversity, litter and recycling.

The department also runs a number of trips within the UK and abroad. We have visited a range of locations including Barton-on-sea, the Lake District, Cornwall, Stratford, London and Iceland. We are currently planning a Humanities trip to Naples, Italy.