HUMANITIES - GEOGRAPHY
Welcome to our Geography Department webpage!
Geography is a vital subject that is taught to all students in Key Stage 3 and those who choose it for GCSE. We consider it to be of the upmost value to our young people, helping them foster an awareness that we are, more and more, a worldwide community joined by global trends, pressures, tensions, conflicts and experiences. Unlike in any other era of history, people today connect across the globe in an instant. Our world is increasingly economically and culturally interconnected. Studying geography helps students make sense of all this. It opens up students’ awareness to what is around them locally and globally and this burgeoning knowledge can help them think critically about the world’s economic and political systems as they themselves become its next generation of citizens and leaders.
From exploring the effects of flooding, to analysing the reasons for increasing urbanisation; from evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of globalisation to dissecting the anthropomorphic origins of climate change, our Geography curriculum is uniquely placed to prepare our young prepare for life in an increasingly fragile world and to shape them into informed, sensitive and aware young adults keen to participate actively and effectively in conserving the planet on which they live.
The Geography Department, The Lakes School June 2023
OUR CURRICULUM: INTENT
Ofsted EIF: “leaders … construct a curriculum that is ambitious and designed to give all learners … the knowledge and cultural capital they need to succeed in life … (It) is coherently planned and sequenced towards cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning and employment.”
The Lakes School Geography Curriculum (Years 7-11) meets these criteria in a number of ways. It sets out to provide our young people with a well-constructed curriculum that is engagingly presented and which will therefore encourage them to develop a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. It is intended to build excellent knowledge of where places are and what they are like, a comprehensive understanding of the ways in which places are interdependent and interconnected, an ability to reach clear conclusions and explain their findings, competence in field work skills as well as other geographical aptitudes and techniques and, ultimately, an ability to express well-balanced opinions rooted in sound knowledge and understanding about current issues in society and the environment.
The intent of our Geography curriculum here at The Lakes School is to provide learners with the knowledge, skills and awareness that will encourage them to consider their responsibility as increasingly global citizens both to other communities around the world and to the protection of the physical environment both locally and internationally.
OUR CURRICULUM: IMPLEMENTATION
Ofsted EIF: “teachers present subject matter clearly, promoting appropriate discussion … (Over) the course of study, teaching is designed to help learners to remember in the long term the content they have been taught … (Teachers) use assessment well, for example to help learners embed and use knowledge fluently … The resources and materials … reflect the provider’s ambitious intentions for the course of study”
The Lakes School Geography Curriculum (Years 7-11) meets these criteria in a number of ways. Teachers follow a structured and well-planned Scheme of Work. This allows for a common, sound progression in the understanding and application of Geographical skills such as interpretation, analysis, evaluation and use of fieldwork. These core skills use qualitative and quantitative data and often form part of an extended writing piece. The sequencing of the lessons enables this to be practised and refined across all Key Stages whilst preparing our learners for the transition to the next phase of their educational or into the workplace. Teachers revisit content taught previously in order to introduce new, more complex knowledge to deepen students’ understanding. Lessons provide opportunities for discussion and reflection to help students tackle authoritatively a range of complex questions.
Our Geography curriculum includes the most appropriate examples and case studies to demonstrate each aspect being learned. These are always real, relevant to the content and support students to see the dynamic and interconnected nature of Geography in the modern world
OUR CURRICULUM: IMPACT
Ofsted EIF: “learners develop detailed knowledge and skills … and, as a result, achieve well. Where relevant, this is reflected in results … that meet government expectations … (Learners) are ready for the next stage of education, employment or training. Where relevant, they gain qualifications that allow them to go on to destinations that meet their interests, aspirations and the intention of their course of study.”
The Lakes School Geography Curriculum (Years 7-11) meets these criteria in a number of ways. It ensures all learners, by the time they leave Key Stage 4, will have developed:
- a love and passion for Geography
- a rich body of geographical knowledge and a wide range of transferable skills
- an ability to debate and discuss geographical issues
- an ability to reflect seriously on matters such as climate change
- an inquisitive nature and genuine desire to understand global environmental issues and to seek to make a personal difference in protecting and shaping the world we share
WHAT’S UNIQUE ABOUT GEOGRAPHY AT THE LAKES SCHOOL?
A TRIP TO ICELAND IN KEY STAGE 5!
As a department, we are keen to give our students the opportunity to travel much further afield and over the years and our staff have both led and taken part in field trips to Norway, Morocco, Japan and most recently Iceland.
The Iceland trip has become a fundamental part of the A-Level Geography experience with our pupils completing a circuit of the country, following Route 1, over the course of an enjoyable and jam-packed seven days.
Lakes School A-level Geography students enjoy a moment’s relaxation in Iceland!