Dame Alice Owen's School

Geography

Our aim in geography is to bring to the classroom all aspects of the world around us and help to make our students more aware of their global citizenship status. We look at many big issues facing the world today as diverse as Global warming to the spread of infectious diseases. These issues as well as some traditional geography are taught throughout the key stages. We strive to make the topics as interesting and as relevant as possible using current up to date case studies to reflect our ever changing world. Through the medium of TV, newspapers DVD’s and good old books and our links with the school library we aim to enthuse our students.

We follow a syllabus which meets the New National Curriculum requirements for Geography in years 7 to 9. The students will be introduced to a selection of topics and geographical issues starting with their own personal geography at local, national and sometimes international level. They will be taught a wide range of skills and techniques ranging from role plays and fieldwork to more traditional skills like map and data interpretation. They will make use of the department ICT facilities and have regular access to a lap top to produce their work. They will be expected to have access to ICT including Google earth at home.

Year 7 study Personal geography, mapwork, the local area, weather and climate, criminal geography and environmental issues. The whole year group visit to Apsley paper recycling mill where they see the process in action and take part in an activity where they use the “Broke” (off cuts from the paper making process) to produce a range of paper products for sale to raise money for our link school in Tanzania. Year 8 look at issues such as Fair trade and complete an “apprentice style” Chocolate bar project, the also look at development and Japan. Year 9 enjoy work on Volcanoes and earthquakes, even building their own Volcanoes, they also design sustainable cities and look at issues concerning clothing production in India. Trips are being planned for year 8 in the near future.

GCSE will follow the new Edxcel A syllabus building on issues taught in KS3 and some new ones, one highlight of the course is our field course to Swanage in Dorset where coursework data collection is undertaken on physical and human coastal tourist attractions. This will now be written up in normal lesson time. The skills gained throughout the course and especially in producing the coursework will prove invaluable for future use in both university studies and in the world of work.

A level is again a new course where a wide range of Big global issues are tackled using many very relevant and up to date resources exploring the issues facing climate change to the influence of superpowers and everything in-between! A very high percentage of our students who study geography at A level go on to study geography or related courses at university. Our field work will be based at Flatford Mill in Essex and is studying coastal and rural issues; this will be new for February 2010.

Mrs L Ashman (Head of Geography)

Further information for current parents and students can be found on the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment). Log-in via the link above, click on Departments, then Geography. Parents are reminded that they share log-in and password details with their child.

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