The Key Stage 3 curriculum is intended to develop a passion for Geography through engaging pupils in global issues, developing geographical skills and building an awareness of the world we live in.  We prepare our students with a wide range of knowledge and skills which will have direct relevance in later life and offer a range of opportunities to experience cultural capital.

The structure of the curriculum has been designed so that there is clear progression from one year to the next. Each year, the units taught, build on the knowledge and understanding gained in the previous year. Students will make links between social, economic and environmental issues and develop links to see the interactions between geographical aspects.

Students will learn about places, significant events and world themes that are outside of their own experience and develop their understanding of the world’s diversity of environments, people, culture and economies. The intention is that by the time our students reach Year 10, they have gained in-depth knowledge of a wide breadth of geographical topics, with the required skills developed sufficiently to achieve the best possible outcomes.

The same themes that have engaged students in KS3 are at the core of our KS4 work. As the concepts are familiar to our students, they can build upon them, and apply them to detailed, real world examples, analyse social questions and offer real world solutions. Students will learn about places that are outside of their own experience and develop their understanding of the world’s diversity of environments, people, culture and economies.

Students develop skills in evaluation to develop reasoning for varied sustainable management strategies which can be used to adapt and mitigate the challenges our world faces in the future. Students regularly practise exam technique from their first lessons in year 10, until their very last unit in year 11.

Learning in Geography extends beyond the classroom. Students use practical fieldwork to practise data collection, data presentation, and then complete a detailed analysis and evaluation as they complete their own enquiries into both human and physical issues.

Pupils will again be able to build yet further on the skills they have developed throughout Key Stages 3 and 4. During the two years of study, all pupils will benefit from a knowledge-rich curriculum, benefiting from the most up-to-date world developments, which test their ability to think critically, effectively analyse and make sustained, supported judgements on a wide variety of topics, both past and present and across the world. Using a wide range of resources which are designed to foster a love of the subject, the intent is to effectively prepare all students, through a challenging and rewarding curriculum, for their next steps, whether they be higher education, apprenticeships or employment. Moreover, pupils will be given a number of enrichment opportunities such as university visits, opportunities to collect fieldwork data and rural investigation which takes places numerous Welsh villages. These opportunities will help them to apply their in-class learning as well as providing a culturally enlightening experience.