Year 7
Geographical skills and rivers
You will use map skills to investigate rivers. This will help you to use Ordnance Survey maps including 6 figure grid references, compass directions and longitude and latitude. You will also study rivers to understand how waterfalls are formed, why river flood and how we can manage this.
Read MoreAfrica
You will be investigating the physical and human geography of Africa including looking at the different biomes across the continent, a brief history of Africa and an in depth study of the issues surrounding blood diamonds in Sierra Leone.
Climate and environments
You will study weather and climates including how to create and read climate graphs, a geographical investigation looking at microclimates around the school site. You will then use this understanding of weather to investigate extreme environments around the world and how animals, plants and humans adapt to these environments.
Year 8
Development
You will study the varying levels of development around the world including how geographers measure development and how we can reduce the development gap using small scale development schemes such as Playpumps in Malawi. We then move on to investigate the population of India including Kerala's population policy and a comparison of the small scale development with the large scale Sardar Sarovar Dam project.
Hazards
You will investigate the structure of the Earth and how its movement creates tectonic hazards such as earthquakes and volcanoes. You will complete a case study of the impacts of the Boxing Day tsunami and then move to investigate how the people of Japan manage the tsunami threats in Tohoku. Finally you will study volcanic eruptions and investigate how they create hazards for humans.
Sustainable futures
You will investigate the sustainability of the resources we use. You will study the difference between types of energy and the costs and benefits of each. You will study the importance of nuclear power and the impacts of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. We will finish with an investigation into how much carbon the trees on the school site remove from the atmosphere.
Year 9
How and why does development and quality of life vary around the world?
You will study the variations in economic development and quality of life globally. You will then move on to investigate different strategies used for reducing the global development gap.
Read MoreWhy do tectonic hazards occur and how do we manage their impacts?
You will explore how the tectonic processes happening below our feet lead to hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis. You then move to study why these create challenges for societies and how we manage the impacts of these events.
Read MoreWhy do environments around the world vary and what makes the tropical rainforest so important?
This topic takes you through the main global ecosystens and the basics of how an ecosystem functions. We then move on to focus on the value of the tropical rainforest. Here we explore the distinctive characteristics before going on to look at threats to the tropical rainforest before assessing the strategies we can use to sustainably manage the forest.
Read MoreHow has economic development led to change in Nigeria?
This topic builds on understanding from term 1, where the theory of development is applied to a case study of Nigeria, a newly emerging economy. You gain an understanding of how rapid economic development has lead to social, environmental and cultural change in Nigeria.
Read MoreHow has the UK economy changed over time and how does it affect employment and growth?
This is the last topic in the Changing Economic World section of the course. Similarly to the Nigeria case study, this builds on the theory and knowledge learned in the first section to understand how major changes in the UK economy affect employment patterns and regional growth.
Read MoreYear 10
Why do the characteristics of rivers change as you move downstream and how can we manage the risk of flooding?
In this topic we begin by looking at the diverse landscapes across the UK. We then move to study how the shape of river valleys change as you move downstream before taking a focused look at a variety of fluvial landforms. We finish by assessing the causes and management strategies available to reduce the effects of river flooding.
Read MoreWhy are cold environments so unique and how can we protect them?
Here we investigate the characterists of tundra and polar environments including looking at the interdependence of different factors which influence them. We then move to look at the development opportunities such as fishing or mineral extraction before assessing some of the challenges of developing these areas. Finally we look at strategies to balance the needs for development and conservation.
Read MoreWhy do weather and climate hazards cause problems and how can we manage them?
You will explore causes of climate change and how we aim to manage this. We move on to why weather varies around the world and how this can lead to the creation of weather hazrads. We then take a focused look at the impacts and management of tropical storms and why this varies depending on a country's level of development.
Read MoreHow has urban growth created opportunities and challenges in Lagos?
This topic is a case study of Lagos, a megacity and the biggest city in Africa. As a city of more than 15 million people, Lagos has experienced rapid growth. This topic looks into how this has created social and economic opportunities but also many challenges.
Read MoreWhy do the characteristics of the coast vary and how can we manage the effects of physical processes?
In this topic we begin by looking at how the coast is shaped by many different physical processes. We then assess how coastal landforms vary as a result of different geology before going to to assess how we can manage coastal erosion. We complete the year by going to the Holderness Coast in Yorkshire to complete an investigation assessing the success of their coastal management.
Read MoreYear 11
How does the changing demand and availability of food, water and energy create opportunities and challenges for the UK?
This topic provides an overview of the demand and provision of food, water and energy in the UK. It focuses on how each of these resources present opportunities and challenges for the UK.
Read MoreHow does demand for energy lead to energy insecurity and how can supply be increased?
This topic focuses on energy as a resource and begins by looking at how demand for energy resources is rising globally but can lead to insecurity and potential conflict. It then goes on to look at different strategies that can be used to increase supply.
Read MoreWhy are geographical skills so important?
Throughout the course students are required to develop and demonstrate a range of geographical skills including cartographic, graphical, numerical and statistical skills. These are interwoven into the existing topics but this topic allows time for students to spend time analysing the usefulness of different presentation geographical techniques
Read MoreHow do geographers make decisions?
This element of study brings a critical thinking and problem-solving element to the course. The issue studied changes each year but is chosen from any aspect of the compulsory sections of the GCSE course. Students then receive a booklet of information in the form of text, graphs, photographs and quotes. This topic builds to an activity in which students draw on all of their previous learning to make a decision on the presented issue.
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