Geography
'Geography underpins a lifelong conversation about the Earth as the home of humankind.’
Geography enables pupils to understand the complex and interconnected nature of the physical and human world we live in and to become informed global citizens.
What makes Geography excellent at Chulmleigh?
The discipline of geography includes the fundamental principles of how the world works, both in a physical sense and for the human society that it sustains. This knowledge is essential to being an educated citizen and is transformative in enriching pupils’ understanding and provides a framework for future knowledge. Pupils can live, work and succeed all over the world.
The curriculum exposes pupils to differing cultures, busts misconceptions and invites pupils to think about real world problems, from the impacts of climate change to the involvement of new world superpowers in the development of lower income countries. We also study a variety of theorists and how their achievements have influenced our geographical thinking in a variety of fields.
Assessment
Pupils are assessed through end-of-topic knowledge and application assessments which require them to use extended writing as well as geographical, mathematical and cartographic skills. There is one formal 45-minute assessment per year through KS3 during assessment week. This may include content from across the topics studied so far during that academic year. For KS4, pupils regularly practise exam questions and receive feedback, alongside scheduled mock exams.
Year 7 Curriculum
Term 1
Geographical Skills:
- Direction
- Distance
- Grid references
- Latitude
Development:
- Factfulness
- Factors affecting development
- Measures
- SDGs
Term 2
Tropical rainforests:
- Climate
- Plants
- Animals
- Deforestation
- Sustainable management
Population:
- Distribution
- DTM
- Population pyramids
- Ageing and youthful populations
- Migration
Term 3
Rivers:
- Processes
- Landforms
- Flooding
- River management
Oceans:
- Plastic waste
- Coral reefs
- Carbon sink
- Overfishing
Year 8 Curriculum
Term 1
Weather:
- High & low pressure
- Air masses
- Hurricanes
Place Study of Thailand:
- Physical & human geography
- Tourism
- Festivals
Term 2
Climate Change:
- Evidence
- Natural & human causes
- Effects, mitigation & adaptation
Urban World:
- Megacities
- Informal settlements
- London
- Sustainable cities
- Masdar City
Term 3
Coasts:
- Processes
- Landforms
- Hard & soft engineering.
Africa is not a Country:
- Colonialism
- Cobalt mining
- ‘single story’
- Morocco energy
Year 9 Curriculum
Term 1
Globalisation and Superpowers:
- Causes of globalisation
- Rise of BRIC/MINT
- Environmental impacts
- Neo-colonialism
Tectonic hazards:
- Structure of Earth
- Plate boundaries
- Tsunamis and wealth
- Types of volcano
- Risk management
Term 2
Extreme Environments:
- Hot deserts
- Desertification
- Cold environments
- Everest and tourism
- Mariana Trench
Term 3
The Middle East:
- Sykes-Picot Agreement
- Physical geography
- Population distribution
- Bedouin
- Oil
- Yemen vs UAE
Year 10 Curriculum
Term 1
Natural hazards:
- Tectonics
- Impacts & responses
- Tropical storms
- Hazard management
Climate change:
- Causes, effects and management
The living world:
- Ecosystems
- Tropical rainforests
- Cold environments
Term 2
Urban Issues & challenges:
- Factors affecting urbanisation
- Consequences of urbanisation
- City in a NEE/LIC (Rio de Janeiro) and a city in the UK (Bristol)
Term 3
Physical landscapes of the UK:
- Rivers & coasts options: processes, landforms and management
Year 11 Curriculum
Term 1
Changing economic world:
- Economic development
- Reducing the development gap
- NEE/LIC – Nigeria, UK economy
Term 2
Challenge of resource management:
- Food, energy and water in the UK.
Food option:
- Global distribution
- Factors affecting supply
- Impacts of food insecurity
- Strategies to increase food supply
- Sustainability
Term 3
Issues evaluation (pre-release exam booklet in Mar/Apr) & geographical skills practice
Future Careers
- Climatologist
- Meteorologist
- Urban planner
- National Park ranger
- International aid worker
- Environmental scientist
- Demographer
- Cartographer
Curricular enhancement opportunities (e.g. Fieldwork, trips, competitions etc)
Fieldwork opportunities Year 7:
- Eden Project
- Little Dart river investigation
- Dartmoor Discovery
Fieldwork opportunities Year 8:
- Dartmoor Discovery
- Microclimate study on the school site
Fieldwork opportunities Year 10
- Human geography fieldwork in Exeter
- Regeneration project / Iceland option
Fieldwork opportunities Year 11:
- Physical geography fieldwork in Dawlish Warren: coastal management / Iceland option