Geography
At Invicta, our Geography curriculum ensures students understand and appreciate the ever-changing, and all-encompassing world around us. From the future of food and the complexities of world issues in Year 7, to tropical rainforests and changing urban environments, we aim for all students to be worldly in all they do. We use IT such as Google Earth and a variety of research platforms to allow learners to explore their own arguments, gain a sense of place and appreciate localities far and wide. Through the Geography Society, students from across the year groups are continuing to drive forward change campaigning through ‘eco’ projects.
Opportunities to experience fieldwork is offered as a part of our comprehensive fieldwork schedule. Through an intertwined curriculum including literature, both fiction and non-fiction, with a focus on world news, students are able to delve further into debates and concerns that are relevant to them and the places they love most.
Our vision is for students to become life-long geographers who understand, and have opinions on, the complexities of our planet, so they can make informed decisions and choices in years to come.
We ensure students develop a passion for the world around them, including a love of places, people and the environment. We strive to enable students to:
- Develop curiosity and fascination about the world and its people, expanding global knowledge of places at different scales so that they become life-long Geographers.
- Progress understanding of the big ideas in Geography – place, space, scale, diversity, interdependence, physical and human processes and sustainability. Stimulate and challenge students to learn beyond the curriculum and enable them not to view geography in isolation but as one link helping form a robust web of knowledge.
- Consider what places are like, how physical and human geography interconnect, how places are changing, why, and to develop an understanding of the issues facing a diverse range of places and people now and in the future.
- Develop the cognitive ability to think critically about 21st century issues therefore being able to make informed decisions along with an awareness about the impact of their own choices and actions on the world around them.
- Develop the ability to interpret geographical information using a wide range of sources including maps, written information, graphs, and photographs. Be able to communicate ideas effectively both verbally and in extended writing using geographical terminology as well-informed citizens.
Our four key aims are for students to:
Know geographical material - know about places and environments.
Think like a geographer - be able to explain how the world works and appreciate interconnections
Apply geography – use knowledge and understanding to provide explanations and make judgements, use GIS purposefully to investigate places, make inferences and analyse physical systems (Google Earth etc.)
Study like a geographer- select and use appropriate enquiry skills to discover interpret and communicate information.
What can you do? We recommend that you:
- Read Prisoners of Geography
- Watch The Earthshot Prize
- Listen to BBC World Service
- Research current events
- Visit everywhere!
Key Stage 3
In Years 7 and 8, students will begin their journey on ‘What Makes a Good Geographer?’. Students will develop fieldwork, group presentations, research and data collection skills, as well as gaining experience with IT mapping and the use of Excel. Topics covered are broad and varied to ensure students are well-equipped for the world around them.
Topics Covered
Year 7
What does it mean to be a good geographer?
- Global knowledge – using maps confidently, global culture and food, introduction to sustainability and eco buildings.
- How to become an eco-architect.
- Map skills – including Google Earth and OS.
- Fieldwork skills – local study and investigation; how to conduct an enquiry (April)
How is Bangladesh affected by Globalisation?
- What is globalisation? - global connections, trade, evaluation of TNC activity.
- How does fast fashion affect people and places?
What is the future of biodiversity in Gabon?
- How does the weather and climate have an impact upon people and environment?
- Weather around the world – weather and climate, climate graphs, climate zones and biomes, extreme weather.
- Biodiversity under threat; conservation and climate shifts.
How do rivers influence our landscape?
- What is the link between the human and physical geography of Russia?
- Appreciation of physical characteristics- climate, landscape, resources.
- Link between population patterns, economic activity, and the physical characteristics.
- Rivers - Key features of the hydrosphere, location of the world’s main rivers, key processes of erosion transportation and deposition and key landforms.
- The water cycle, drainage basins and water scarcity.
Who is a pioneer in the field?
- Independent work for the Key stage 3 diploma task.
Year 8
Why do we need environmental protection?
- What actions can I take? - Ecological footprints, individual waste diaries and plastic pollution. Investigation into the crisis of marine contamination and writing formal letters to leaders. Using IT to create graphs and collect data to self-assess.
Why are cold places important cold regions?
- The interdependence of food chains in Antarctica and the Arctic, the environment, and people -including climate of polar regions; Impacts of tourism and scientific research; investigating Lulea in Sweden; Viewpoints on conservation. Developing research skills and creating debates. What is the Arctic Circle and why is it important? How does Lulea, Sweden rely on the landscape?
Can we ever know enough about earthquakes and volcanoes to live safely?
- Tectonic hazards basic causes -plate boundaries, Pangea, continental drift. Why live in tectonic areas and how the risks can be monitored and managed for earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis.
- How does Iceland cope with living on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge?
- Living on the Ring of Fire – Indonesia – Sulawesi, Bali and Java; to analyse the impacts of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes in this hazard hotspot; multiple hazard zones.
What is development? - Nepal Under the Microscope.
- Development definitions and indicators, spatial patterns of development. Reasons for poverty applied to Asia. Identify reasons for poverty across the globe and apply to Asia – specifically Nepal - Kathmandu case study; plus, one monastery village in Nepal – Khumjung
- Assess the impact of Kathmandu’s growth on improving peoples’ lives.
- Economic and urban growth and impact upon lives – positive and negative – focus upon China and India, Sustainable Development Goals
- Group presentations and peer assessment. – speeches
What are the challenges and opportunities within Africa?
- Key countries, climates zones and physical landscapes within Africa. Physical and social challenges focussing upon the Horn of Africa. Links between China and Africa.
- Introduction to the complexity of sustainable development and impact of individual decisions explored though flower plantations in Kenya.
- Looking at the Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "The Danger of a Single Story" Ted Talk
How developed is the Middle East? Why?
- Location and countries, key features of the physical geography -landscape, tectonic zones and resources. Analysis of opportunities and challenges and the contrasts in development – Yemen and UAE.
What is the future of the planet – a geographer’s view? - Focus upon climate change as a controversial issue. Causes, effects and evaluation of differing viewpoints.
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable, students receive:
- 3 hours of guided classroom learning
- 40 minutes of independent homework
Enrichment and Extra Curricular
To Read
- Malala Yousafzai (2013) ‘I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban’
- David Attenborough (2009) ‘Life Stories’
- Robert M Sapolsky (2002) ‘A Primate’s Memoir: Love, Death and Baboons in East Africa’
- Alastair Bonnett (2014) ‘Unrult Places: Lost Spaces, Secret Cities and Other Inscrutable Geographies’
- Khaled Hosseini (2013) ‘The Kite Runner’
- Stay up-to-date and aware of current news events related to topics studied.
- BBC Bitesize (KS3 and GCSE)
- BBC News
- https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mapzone/
- http://nationalgeographic.org
- www.discoveringantarctica.co.uk/
- www.porini.com
- www.farmafrica.org
Useful Tips
- Allow time to make revision resources from the start of the course, particularly for more challenging topics.
- Complete quizzes online to regularly recap learning.
- Experiment with different presentation methods where this is appropriate.
- Look back at previous assessments to review your targets and how to improve.
Year 9 - Foundation Year
In Year 9, our Foundation Year builds on the skills and experiences acquired during Years 7 and 8. This enables students the opportunity to better understand, appreciate and consolidate concepts and aspects of geography that are constantly changing and evolving. We study ‘World Issues’ including climate change, hazards and our sinking coasts; delving into the realities of our changing planet and preparing students to debate and acknowledge the complex world around us in different ways. Students will visit places and through fieldwork also develop important group and individual skills of data collection, investigating places and reaching conclusions.
Topics covered
World At Risk:
Our foundation year builds up your expertise in investigating places and understanding the link between physical and human systems.
- Climate change – our changing weather, environmental systems and societies, sinking coasts and global warming, including a study into the Maldives. What does the future hold for a Maldivian living in the capital Malé?
- Natural hazards including extreme weather in the UK and more prevalent wildfires, tropical storms and tectonic hazards creating vulnerable communities; using GIS to explore and infer life in the Philippines, Tacloban city; GIS task – Flood risk map in local areas.
- Tropical storms and the Haiyan typhoon – why did so many people lose their lives? What is the Build Back Better scheme?
- Coastal landscapes and *glaciers at risk including our polar regions, retreat, and global impacts. What are coastal processes and how do they shape the land? What are glacial processes and how do they shape the land?
- Field Trip to Herne Bay to investigate coastal erosion – group work and presentation. Urban study and sea defences – using maps and Google Earth as secondary data.
- Savanna grasslands at risk – including desertification and the Sahel Region, using GIS to monitor live clouds and the movement of moisture in this region.
- Geopolitical issues including migration and resource competition - human and physical geography of Haiti. What are multiple hazard zones and how do places deal with a complex array of dynamic pressures?
- Tropical rainforests at risk – their importance, use and future considerations for governments.
*Some year 9 cohorts study rivers of the UK and flooding instead of glaciers, TBC
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable, students receive:
- 4 hours of guided classroom learning
- 1 hour of guided independent homework
Enrichment and Extra Curricular
To Read
- Be aware of current news events related to topics studied.
- John Bowes (2010) ‘The Fair Trade Revolution’
- Phil Mullan (2002) ‘The Imaginary Time Bomb: Why an Ageing Population is Not a Social Problem’
- Paul Collier (2008) ‘The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It’
- Mike Davis (2007) ‘Planet of Slums’
Extra Resources
- Cool Geography textbook on student portal
- CGP revision guide will be provided but can be purchased
- CGP workbooks
- Cool Geography website
- BBC bitesize website
Useful Tips
- Start making revision resources from the start of the course.
- Experiment with different revision strategies.
- Experiment with different presentation methods where this is appropriate.
- Look back at previous assessments to see the type of questions and how you could improve your answers.
Trips
- Vinters Valley Nature Reserve
- Herne Bay
Key Stage 4
At GCSE Geography students begin to venture into deeper understanding, collating their knowledge from Key Stage 3 and the Foundation Year, and apply this to real life places and peoples. From resource extraction to overpopulation and development, students will be prepared for the wider world. They will delve into ‘place’, from Lagos to Jaisalmer, Manaus to London, places underpin our GCSE and students enjoy a vast range of themes and trips to build their confidence and learning in this subject.
Exam board/Qualification: AQA
Specification: 8035
- 3 examination papers at the end of Year 11
- Living with the Physical Environment 90 minutes
- Challenges in the Human Environment 90 minutes
- Geographical Applications 75 minutes
Topics Covered
Year 10
Year 10 will start with pond dipping in the local nature reserve and consolidating our knowledge on small-scale ecosystems.
Rainforests and Hot Deserts
- Life in the Amazonia region – investigating the Yanomami peoples, NGOs such as Survival and the issues of dam development (Belo Monte), deforestation as well as opportunities for tourism in the region – Mashpi lodge (ecotourism)
- Life in Jaisalmer city, India and the Thar desert – using GIS and Google Earth to investigate daily life and opportunities in the bustling city of Jaisalmer in the hot desert close to the border with Pakistan – enquiry – what is the Indira Gandhi Canal and why is it creating geopolitical issues? Using IT to infer knowledge about place and societies.
Development Across the World
- Consolidating understanding of development factors and quality of life, reducing the development gap, investigation into the context of Haiti (i.e. colonialism and the impact of reparations to France)
- Charities across the world and the strengths and limitations of NGO work internationally
- Nigeria – mapping and analysing the diverse and complex country of Nigeria, including life in the megalopolis Lagos and the Eko Atlantic super development to rural Northern Nigeria where citizens struggle with desertification.
Cities of the World
- Urban Challenges - Global pattern of Urban Change, what are megacities and what is life in Tokyo like?
- Urban growth in Mexico City and the environs – how has Mexico City changed over time and what are current struggles? i.e. crime, overpopulation and the current strategies – Emisor Oriente and the Paseo Dominical. Migration and international issues; US border.
- Urban Challenges and Regeneration in the city of Bristol – how successful have regeneration schemes been and how does this impact life of citizens in Bristol?
- Human geography fieldwork opportunity in the local area – investigating regeneration and the ‘success’ of retail; using secondary data, mapping and primary data collection to conduct a detailed enquiry, present and collate findings using graphs, IT and group work
Year 11
Resources, Food and Energy - Our World
- What are resources and how is energy likely to be managed in the future? What is the fuel crisis?
- How about food? What are food miles and how do different players try to create food sustainably? What about farming (large and small-scale)
Consolidation and retrieval- Section A: The challenge of natural hazards
- Retrieval of Tectonic hazards and Case Study Overview; Weather Hazards + Typhoons
- Climate Change Now! Using news articles and current up-to-date media to enquire about our changing climate.
- Section C: Physical landscapes in the UK - Retrieval of Coastal landscapes + Fieldwork Skills and Day Trip to Kent Coast - investigating regeneration and the ‘successes of coastal management, using secondary data, mapping and primary data collection to conduct a detailed enquiry, present and collate findings using graphs, IT and group work
Section B: The Living World
- Small-scale ecosystems; Tropical Rainforests and Hot Deserts Retrieval and Consolidation
Glacial Landscapes – Lake District Map work and Retrieval
- Where are glaciated areas and how are these managed?
- Consolidation of The Challenge of Resource Management and Food
Issues Evaluation from March – pre-release booklet - TBC
*Order of study STC
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable, students receive:
- 5 hours of guided classroom learning
- 2 hours of guided independent homework
Enrichment and Extra Curricular
To Read
- Be aware of current news events related to topics studied .
- John Bowes (2010) ‘The Fair Trade Revolution’
- Phil Mullan (2002) ‘The Imaginary Time Bomb: Why an Ageing Population is Not a Social Problem’
- Paul Collier (2008) ‘The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It’
- Mike Davis (2007) ‘Planet of Slums’
Extra Resources
- Cool Geography textbook on student portal
- CGP revision guide will be provided but can be purchased
- CGP workbooks
- Cool Geography website
- BBC bitesize website
Useful Tips
- Start making revision resources from the start of the course.
- Experiment with different revision strategies.
- Experiment with different presentation methods where this is appropriate.
- Look back at previous assessments to see the type of questions and how you could improve your answers.
- Use the learning checklists to help you work through and create your gap analysis.
- Practice examination questions.
Trips/Clubs
- Field Work Trip - Maidstone (Human Geography)
- Field Work Trip - Isle of Sheppey (Physical Geography)
- Field Trip Opportunities - Iceland, Sicily and Sorento Italy
- Eco Schools Club
- Lunchtime sessions to watch/discuss recent documentaries
Key Stage 5
At Key Stage 5, students take their Geography experiences and understanding to the very next level. Using contemporary news and world issues to debate, argue and put together the themes of; identity, human rights, climate change, world hazards and energy/water security. As the world changes, so does our curriculum, and we strive to ensure students appreciate and understand that every day we change our knowledge, understanding of place and in Geography it is at the heart of our Key Stage 5 teaching and learning.
Exam board/Qualification: Edexcel A Level
- 3 examination papers at the end of Year 13
- Paper 1 - Dynamic Landscapes, Physical Systems and Sustainability 135 minutes- 30%
- Paper 2- Dynamic Places, Human Systems and Geopolitics 135 minutes- 30%
- Paper 3 – Synoptic Investigation 135 minutes – 20%
- Non – Examined Assessment ( coursework ) – 20%
Topics Covered
Year 12
- Dynamic Landscapes – Tectonic Hazards and Coastal Landscapes.
- Dynamic Places – Globalisation and Regenerating Places.
- A Level residential field trip
Year 13
- Physical Systems and Sustainability – water security, energy provision and climate change.
- Human Systems and Geopolitics – Superpowers, the development gap and human rights.
Timetable
Over a fortnightly timetable, students receive:
- 10 hours of guided classroom learning
- 8 hours of guided independent homework
Enrichment and Extra Curricular
To Read
- BBC News (or other news website/broadsheet)
- Geography Review journal
- New Scientist
- The Economist
- RGS website
- National Geographic website
- Tim Marshall (2016) “Prisoners of Geography”
- Danny Dorling (2015) “Inequality and the 1%”
- Danny Dorling and Carl Lee ( 2016) “Geography : ideas in profile”
Extra Resources
- CGP Revision Guide
- Hodder Education Student Guides
Useful Tips
Keep up to date with current events building up a store of small examples that will help justify or illustrate the points made in your answers.
Careers
We have a wealth of information on our Careers page - Please click here to visit.
