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We have designed our curriculum using the KS3 National Curriculum and it is delivered under the framework of the IB Middle Years programme. We have also referenced the KS2 Programmes of Study in our initial planning.

Our Overall goal is to produce well-rounded citizens and geographers who can confidently confront common misconceptions with accurate facts and concepts. We help our students develop cultural capital by assisting them in comprehending the present world in its depth and breadth. Geography fundamentally includes a dialogue between the physical, social, economic and environmental issues in the world around them. We have designed our curriculum using the KS3 National Curriculum and it is delivered under the framework of the IB Middle Years programme. We have also referenced the KS2 Programmes of Study in our initial planning. For example they learn about how countries are at various stages of development due to the geographical factors determining its position and how the lives of the people who live there are vastly different with the country and to ours.

Geography also aids in the understanding of the various monumental environmental challenges that are affecting the world in which we all live, as well as how to make sense of their consequences in context. As a powerful bridging subject, geography has strong cross curricular links to many topics the students will study in school.

KS3 Geography

Develop a sense of place to undertake thematic studies in both physical and human geography. Understanding the geography of local areas, the UK and have a working knowledge of the main continents, countries and cities of the world. OS maps are widely used when studying the physical and human geography of the UK, for example in studying rivers or urban settlement, this unit introduces a range of practical skills used to interpret OS maps. Gain a detailed knowledge of the world and its environments through the use of atlas maps.

  • SOI: The UK is shaped by time, place and space, this diversity is on a range of scales.          
  • Key Concept: Time, Place and Space
  • Related Concept: Diversity and Scale
  • Global Context: Orientation in time and space

Understand the physical processes that shape the UK’s landscapes. Develop awareness of the necessary interactions between the lithosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. To develop local knowledge of UK landscapes and environments and the processes that helped shape them. Understand and be able to think critically about human interactions with river and mountain landscapes. 

  • SOI: The UK’s landscape’s physical systems and processes, influences how and where humans live in time and space.       
  • Key Concept: Systems
  • Related Concept: Processes
  • Global Context: Orientation in time and space

Understand the physical processes that shape the UK’s landscapes. Develop awareness of the necessary interactions between the lithosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere. To develop local knowledge of UK landscapes and environments and the processes that helped shape them. Understand and be able to think critically about human interactions with river and mountain landscapes.  

  • SOI: The UK’s landscape’s physical systems and processes, influences how and where humans live in time and space.       
  • Key Concept: Systems
  • Related Concept: Processes
  • Global Context: Orientation in time and space

Understand the distribution of population and major cities in the UK and the growth of commuter settlements. Understand the social and economic changes in rural areas. Be able to draw and interpret population pyramids and understand human geography relating to population and urbanisation. Develop skills in interpreting OS maps in the classroom and the field, including using grid references and scale, and aerial and satellite photographs.

  • SOI: The changing UK population represents diversity in identities and relationships
  • Key Concept: Change
  • Related Concept: Diversity
  • Global Context: Identities and Relationships

Demonstrate a clear understanding of weather and climate. Study an extreme UK weather event with opportunities to carry out field investigations, for example studying the microclimate of a local  town and practise key mapping, graphical and statistical skills. In Human and physical geography, study aspects of weather and climate. 

Study of hydrology, for which an  understanding of the water cycle is critical.  Study of the links between physical processes and the environment. Several physical/human links are exemplified, e.g. urban microclimates and the effects of extreme weather events. Development of OS mapwork skills and to engage in field investigations.

  • SOI: Patterns and trends from UK weather systems can cause people’s space to change over time.   
  • Key Concept: Systems
  • Related Concept: Patterns and Trends
  • Global Context: Orientation in Space and Time

Demonstrate and understanding of waste reduction, recycling, water conservation, energy conservation and transport strategies. It will provide students with a basic understanding of the features of sustainable urban living and the changing demand and provision of resources in the UK. Understand the use of natural resources and give students the opportunity to use fieldwork to collect, analyse and draw conclusions from geographical data, and to use GIS to view, analyse and interpret places and data.

  • SOI: Patterns and trends from UK weather systems can cause people’s space to change over time.   
  • Key Concept: Change
  • Related Concept: Causes and consequences
  • Global Context: Fairness and Development

Be able to consolidate and extend knowledge of the world’s major countries and their physical features. In human and physical geography, develop their understanding , using examples at a variety of scales, the key processes in plate tectonics. In geographical skills and fieldwork,  build on knowledge of globes, maps and atlases.

  • SOI: Tectonic processes create a risky world,  management help protect the changes they cause over time and space.
  • Key Concept: Systems
  • Related Concept: Processes and Management
  • Global Context: Orientation in Space and Time

Why is Urbanisation occurring? -Jobs/Houses/Services, urban vs rural living How do Megacities grow? -Settlement Hierarchy, global pattern of mega cities, pressures on megacities of density/speed/space. Why are there urban pressures in the developed world?  -Japan and UK examples, issues including waste/congestion/deprivation. Why are there urban pressures in the developing world? -Brazil example, issues with slums and inequalities . Why is migration to the city occurring? – definition, push and pull factors. How can we plan sustainable cities of the future? – Sustainable solutions on housing, energy, spaces

  • SOI: How does urbanisation influence quality of life around the world?
  • Key Concept: Change
  • Related Concept: Disparity and Equity
  • Global Context: Fairness and Development

How are different biomes created and unique? -Local and global factors, distribution pattern. Why is extinction a risk in the near future? -Global tipping point, Polar example. Why is the Rainforest a unique biome? – Key features, locations, unique species explored. How are human actions threatening the Rainforest? -Threats to the DR Congo from logging, poaching and cattle farms. How is the global demand for palm oil damaging the biosphere? – Exploring the Borneo issue, Loss of species including the orangutan, slash and burn, palm oil futures considered.How can we protect the rainforest sustainably? – REDD+ and Cites explored. 

  • SOI: How are unique biomes under threat from human actions?
  • Key Concept: Change
  • Related Concept: Sustainability
  • Global Context: Globalisation and Sustainability

How can animals adapt to the polar environment? -Penguin, polar bear and arctic fox examples. How have people adapted to life in extreme polar environments? -permafrost issues, clothing, transport, energy, farming and food adaptations. How have humans created threats to the polar environments?

-Direct and indirect threats. Why is the Taiga Forest a unique biome?-Location, climate graph, animal and plant adaptations. How are human actions threatening the Taiga? – Direct and indirect threats

How can we protect the Taiga forest? – Conservation methods, Redd+ and Cities agreements

  • SOI: How are unique biomes under threat from human actions?
  • Key Concept: Change
  • Related Concept: Sustainability
  • Global Context: Globalisation and Sustainability

Why are global resources at risk? -Resource types, Malthus and Boserup theories. Why do we have a dependency on oil? -Explore uses and global levels and producers of oil. How can fracking be a positive and a negative resource? -Explore the issue of fracking in the UK. How can tar sands be a positive and a negative resource? -Explore issue of tar sands in Canada. How can we replace fossil fuels sustainably? -Sustainable solutions including Wind, Solar, and nuclear power. How do we power our future? -Sustainable solutions including Wind, Solar, and nuclear power.

  • SOI:  How does our use of energy and resources impact the environment?         
  • Key Concept: Global Interactions
  • Related Concept: Power
  • Global Context: Scientific and Technical Innovation

Exploration of Africa as a large, diverse continent with 54 countries and where humans first originated. Study of a variety of physical landscapes, including deserts, rainforests, mountains, and savannahs. Study of the Sahara Desert, covering 31% of Africa, and the unique challenges for those who live there. Exploration of Desertification as a significant issue in Africa, worsened by human activities like deforestation. Efforts like the Great Green Wall aim to combat this problem. Study of the Horn of Africa, home to countries like Ethiopia and Somalia,  a region rich in history, diverse landscapes, and natural resources like the Blue Nile. Development of understanding of the challenges in the Horn, such as difficult conditions for salt mining and nomadic life, and also opportunities, such as Ethiopia’s coffee industry.Study of how Africa and Europe differ significantly in terms of development. Exploration of these differences by comparing development indicators between countries like the UK and Ethiopia

  • SOI: The diversity and sustainability of physical and human environments can change in time, place and space.   
  • Key Concept: Systems
  • Related Concept: Sustainability
  • Global Context: Globalisation and Sustainability

Study of how tropical storms are formed? -Linked to formation factors, location, Saffir Simpson scale.  How do developed countries limit the impact of tropical storm events? -USA example, Forecast/prepare/act approach. How do tropical storm events impact developing/emerging countries? -Philippines example, forecasting, public warning systems, community shelters and storm defences, Emergency aid, Replanting mangroves, build back better.How are wildfires are formed and who is at risk?-Natural and human causes of wildfires, global locations, future trends. How do we reduce the impacts of wildfires? -Australian Prepare/Act/Survive, Pulaski, Wildland fire engine, Airdrop, GIS, Backfire, Education-Smokey Bear. Why do droughts occur? -Drought definition, Somalia example

  • SOI: How do humans cope with tropical storms and extreme weather risks?
  • Key Concept: Change
  • Related Concept: Processes
  • Global Context: Orientation in Space and Time

Exploration of global issues. Is it right to use plastic and why is it everybody’s problem?

Global fashion is linked to geography because globalisation and trade have allowed for fashion products to be manufactured in one country, assembled in another and distributed to be sold in many countries around the world. Modern day Pirates and the wider impact on global supply chains 

Geo Politics. How can tourism create opportunities; the impacts of extreme tourism and can tourism really be sustainable?

  • SOI: How do we respond to an ever changing world?
  • Key Concept: Change
  • Related Concept: Disparity and equity
  • Global Context: Fairness and Development

Exploration of climate change – How does the global climate system work? -Air masses, Latitude effect, Altitude effect, Ocean current pattern, marine influence and continentality.  How can climate change occur naturally? -Evidence of climate change, eruption, sunspot and orbital theories. How did climate changes influence life in the past? -Megafauna, food chains, mass extinction, viking migrations, frost fairs How are humans enhancing the greenhouse effect? -Enhanced greenhouse effect, greenhouse gas examples – Methane, NO2 and Halocarbons How may climate shifts change future living in the UK? -Explore possible future patterns of heat and impacts on SEE. How may climate shifts change future living Globally? -Explore possible future patterns of heat and impacts on SEE

  • SOI: How are human actions influencing the global climate?
  • Key Concept: Global Interactions
  • Related Concept: Patterns and Trends
  • Global Context: Globalisation and Sustainability

Exploration of how  the concept of development has changed over recent time? -Development definition, explore models 3 worlds model/North south divide/continuum, Dollar Street. How do we compare countries’ development levels effectively? -GDP vs HDI, other indices explored, country development level comparison activity. How do countries develop over time? -Rostow’s modernisation theory, Frank’s dependency theory How have HIPCs emerged and how we can use short and long term solutions? -Systems of debt creation, Poverty traps, location and reasons for HIPCs. How do top down and bottom up development projects improve countries development levels? -Pros and cons of the projects, examples of projects in India. How can we improve the development in rural areas of the developing world? -Explore rural community solutions in the developing world

  • SOI: How can we improve the economy of countries and quality of life for people around the World?                    
  • Key Concept: Change
  • Related Concept: Disparity and equity
  • Global Context: Fairness and Development

Exploration of how the country of India has developed since 1990? -Explore patterns of population, physical landscape, climate, population pyramids and outsourcing. How has India’s development been unequal? -Comparison between Maharashtra and Bihar states. Why is social development as important as economic development? -Kerala social development example.  How has the mega city of Mumbai developed since 1990?” -Reasons for change, land use patterns and urbanisation issues.

Why has the development of Mumbai led to inequalities? -Explore life in the slums and the limiting factors of living there. Why does Mumbai need a range of aid strategies to be sustainable? -Top down and bottom up strategies explored

  • SOI: How have the country of India and the mega city of Mumbai developed since 1990?
  • Key Concept: Change
  • Related Concept: Sustainability
  • Global Context: Globalisation and Sustainability

Exploration of  why coastal areas are called multi use areas. Understanding the main processes of erosion, weathering and mass movement at the coastline. Study of how sediment is transported along the coast and the coastal features caused by erosion, transportation and deposition.Study of the advantages and disadvantages of hard and soft engineering and creation of a coastal management plan. Considering the threat of climate change to the coastline with particular reference to the Maldives.

  • SOI: Processes and management can change UK landscapes over time and space
  • Key Concept: Change
  • Related Concept: Management and Intervention
  • Global Context: Orientation in Space and Time

KS4 Geography

Study of how more people now live in urban areas than rural areas, with urbanisation fastest in Africa and Asia. Global urban populations have grown from 40% in 1980 to 54% in 2015, and are projected to reach 66% by 2050. Exploration of the causes and challenges of rapid urban change, focusing on how these changes affect quality of life in cities like Mumbai, India.

Study of how our planet provides food, water, shelter, and protection, but it also presents many natural hazards that affect people worldwide. Exploration of how natural processes, such as the climate system and tectonics, function and how humans can prepare for and respond to their effects. It also examines how human activity is increasingly shaping the Earth and its climate, making it a more hazardous place to live.

The UK’s physical geography is shaped by its complex geology and the effects of past and ongoing physical processes, resulting in a variety of distinctive landscapes. Exploration of how geology, physical processes, and human activity have influenced the UK’s landscapes, with a particular focus on rivers. Investigations on river formation, the impact of climate, geology, and slope, the causes and management of flooding, and how tools like OS maps help geographers study these features.

The UK’s physical geography is shaped by its complex geology and the effects of past and ongoing physical processes, creating a wide variety of distinctive landscapes. Exploration of coastal change and conflict, including how geology and physical processes shape coastlines, the formation of landforms through erosion, transportation, and deposition, and how human activity affects coastal areas. Investigations on challenges posed by coastal landscapes and how they can be managed, using tools such as OS maps.

Exploration of how development is measured and why global inequality exists. Students will investigate economic, social, and political indicators, as well as theories explaining development, such as modernisation and dependency theory. Examination of  strategies to improve development, including international aid and sustainable development goals, and considers the advantages and disadvantages of top-down and bottom-up approaches. Particular focus will be on India’s development, exploring how it has become an emerging country and whether progress has been shared equally.

Exploration of fieldwork investigations, the study of one physical environment (coastal change and conflict or river processes and pressures) and one human environment (dynamic urban areas or changing rural areas) in depth. Understand how to plan investigations using enquiry questions, select and apply qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, use secondary data, and effectively measure, record, present, and analyse their findings. The topic also covers how to draw conclusions and evaluate the success of their fieldwork.

The human landscape of the UK has evolved over thousands of years, but the last 50 years have seen the most rapid changes. Exploration of how rural and urban areas are changing, why these changes are happening, and their impacts. It also examines the influence of global factors on the UK, focusing on two contrasting regions and the major city of London.

The biosphere is essential for human survival, regulating the atmosphere, maintaining soil fertility, supporting ecosystems, and managing water. Indigenous people have historically used it sustainably, but growing populations and commercial exploitation now threaten its resources. The topic considers whether the biosphere can continue to meet human needs without causing global crises.

Exploration of  two major forest biomes: the tropical rainforest and the taiga and how their climates shape their structure, biodiversity, and adaptations. Understanding the differences between the biomes, the threats they face from human activity and climate change, and the conservation efforts at local and international levels, while also considering the conflicts with commercial interests.

Exploration of the importance of energy in modern life, examining how rising populations and wealth are increasing global demand. Investigation of the uneven distribution of energy resources, the environmental and climatic impacts of their extraction and use, and the 21st-century challenge of managing energy production and consumption sustainably.

KS5 geography

Coasts – Exploration of how winds, waves, currents, and geology shape coastal landscapes and the threats they face from natural processes and human activity. Examination of sustainable management strategies using examples from the UK and around the world. Regenerating places – Exploration of how local and contrasting places change economically and socially, the impact of regeneration and rebranding, and how inequalities and attachments to places shape people’s experiences.

Exploration of coasts and regenerating places, studying how physical and human processes shape landscapes, the threats and inequalities they face, and strategies for sustainable management and regeneration.

Tectonics – Exploration of tectonic hazards, their causes, and their impacts, focusing on risk, vulnerability, and strategies to manage and adapt to earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. Globalisation – Exploration of  how globalisation shapes opportunities, inequalities, culture, and environmental pressures, and how sustainable solutions can address these challenges.

Exploration of tectonics and globalisation. In Tectonics, this topic explores tectonic hazards, their causes, and impacts, focusing on risk, vulnerability, and strategies to manage and adapt to earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis. Globalisation – exploration of how globalisation shapes opportunities, inequalities, culture, and environmental pressures, and how sustainable solutions can address these challenges.

Hydrological cycle – exploration of the role of water in supporting life on Earth and how the water cycle operates across different spatial scales and timescales. Investigation of the physical processes controlling water circulation between land, oceans, cryosphere, and atmosphere, as well as the human and physical factors that change water stores. Examination of global water insecurity and the approaches used to manage water supply. Superpowers – exploration of superpowers, their global influence, and the economic, political, and environmental impacts of their dominance and contested spheres of influence.

Hydrological cycle – exploration of the water cycle, the factors affecting water availability, and global strategies to manage water insecurity. Superpowers – exploration of  superpowers, their global influence, and the economic, political, and environmental impacts of their dominance and contested spheres of influence. NEA – Exploration of students’ skills in independent investigation. Students will undertake a research project, often incorporating fieldwork, based on a question or issue from their specification. The investigation requires collecting and analysing primary and/or secondary data, presenting findings, and demonstrating independent evaluation, with a report length of 3,000–4,000 words.

A balanced carbon cycle is essential for maintaining planetary health, as physical processes move carbon between land, oceans, and the atmosphere across different timescales. Exploration of how human activities, particularly fossil fuel use, have altered carbon stores and fluxes, contributing to climate change. Examination of the interaction between the water and carbon cycles, the role of feedbacks, and the global and national strategies for mitigating and adapting to anthropogenic climate change.

Exploration of the carbon cycle and its interactions with the water cycle, which are central to understanding climate change. Exploration of the effects of human activity, the role of feedbacks, and strategies for mitigation and adaptation

Globalisation involves the movement of capital, goods, and people, often creating tensions between interconnected global systems and traditional national sovereignty. Exploration of how international migration, nationalist movements, and shifting identities influence societies, while global governance seeks to manage environmental, social, political, and economic challenges. Examination of how unequal power relations can result in uneven outcomes, benefiting some regions and populations more than others.

Development of understanding of globalisation and global governance, which shape migration, national identity, and inequalities exploring how power and interdependence influence social, economic, and environmental outcomes. Development and submission of the NEA (Non-Examination Assessment), applying independent research, fieldwork, and analytical skills to produce a detailed investigation.