Geography

The aims of the Geography course are to:

• Develop essential knowledge and understanding of different areas of the subject and how they relate to each other.
• Develop and demonstrate a deep appreciation of the skills, knowledge and understanding of geographical methods.
• Develop competence and confidence in a variety of sustainable values.
• Develop curiosity, interest, and enthusiasm for the subject, including developing an interest in further study and careers associated with the subject.
• Understand how society makes decisions about geographical issues and how they link socially, economically, and environmentally.

Year 12

In Year 12 we begin with topics that are familiar to students from KS3 and KS4. The rationale behind this is to ensure students can develop more complex understanding of topics that they are already confident with.

The course begins with Hazards, due to the familiarity of this topic for student. Changing Spaces, Making Places is also a starting point for the course as it introduces students to core conceptual understanding that will need to be built upon when completing the rest of the A-Level human geography course. Students will be familiar with urban environments and key geographical concepts of decline and regeneration, and so students begin with an already firm foundation from which to build more complex geographical knowledge.

The next topic covered is Coastal Landscapes, another topic that students will have firm understanding of, and it will build the complexity in their substantive and disciplinary knowledge. This unit is also fundamental in students being able to get the most from the fieldtrip in Spring Term 1. In addition, most students will complete Non-Examined Assessments on either Changing Spaces, Making Places or Coastal Landscapes, and so this allows them to have the solid understanding to support with their investigations which they begin in Summer Term 1.

The next topic covered is Migration which follows on suitably from Changing Spacing, Making Places, when students will have already looked at shifting flows of people and the impact on place. The topic builds on this understanding, looking in more depth at spatial patterns, and the flows of people have become increasingly complex. The Non-Examined Assessment begins in Summer Term 1, as students are supported with selecting an appropriate investigation that could be undertaken, readying them to collect data over the summer holiday. 

Year 13

In Year 13 students begin on the challenging topic Earth’s Life Support Systems. This is chosen at the beginning of Year 13 due to its complexity and the introduction of new content that has not been covered previously in KS3 or KS4.

Students will also be covering Disease Dilemmas alongside this, a topic where students will approach concepts not previously covered in KS3 and 4. At this point in the course, students will have developed a firm understanding on the rigours of A-Level and will be confident to approach more challenging content.

The final topic that is taught is Power and Borders, a topic that requires students to have a concrete understanding of migration and governance, concepts that will have been covered in both the Migration unit and CSMP.

The Component 03 Geographical debates examination requires students to make synoptic links across the course, and these will be interweaved into the curriculum as students cover more of the course. Once the course is complete, we will spend time making further synoptic links across the entirety of the specification to ready students for Component 03 Geographical Debates.