Geography Department

Mr A Toner - Head of Department - ajt@bws.wilts.sch.uk
Mr A Harmsworth - Geography Teacher and an Assistant Head - mah@bws.wilts.sch.uk
Mrs F Jones - Geography Teacher - fej@bws.wilts.sch.uk

"Geography provides a liberal education that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries in bringing together social and natural sciences - people and their environment. It deals with issues that are central for society and it equips the young to face the future."

Professor Andrew Goudie, University of Oxford

Geography is studied throughout the school and is a popular option at GCSE. Opportunities for fieldwork studies form an intrinsic part of the course at each key stage, the demonstration of fieldwork skills being an essential element of both GCSE and A-level examinations.

We hope that as many of the boys as possible gain an awareness of place, environmental responsibility and an understanding of cultural diversity. We aim to stimulate an interest in, and a wonder of, the world around us and give the boys a desire to explore and to travel confidently. The study of geography provides a meaningful context for developing transferable skills - literacy, numeracy, ICT, problem solving, thinking skills and enquiry. It should enable the boys to make well-informed judgements and help them to understand that here may be more than one way of tackling real-world problems. It is for these reasons that geographers are amongst the most employable graduates.

In year 7 to 9 the boys study a mixture of human and physical topics. In year 7 they start to develop their map skills and investigate the local area. In year 8 topics include looking at how tectonic activity shapes the landscape and influences the lives of people, and why socio-economic inequalities exist and how they can be overcome! Finally in year 9 contemporary issues such as sustainability and migration are studied.

GCSE

Students follow the WJEC Eduqas B (9-1).

This linear course adopts a distinctive problem solving approach to the study of interactions between people and the environment. Pupils will develop skills of interpretation, analysis and evaluation when they collect primary data and are presented with reported evidence and information and become critical learners as they consider the strengths and limitations of this data and evidence.

At the same time pupils will consider the points of view of those who have a vested interest when they are affected by contentious geographical change such as climate change or migration. Pupils will develop the skills to become informed and reflective citizens when they consider a range of viewpoints, values and attitudes which are held by stakeholders on a number of key geographical issues.

The course is broken up into three broad themes; Changing Places, Changing Environments, and Environmental Challenges.

The content of the course is examined by three examination papers;

Paper 1 – Investigating Geographical Issues has three structured data response questions. The final part of each question will require an extended response. These questions will directly test the content contained within each of the three themes.

Paper 2 – Problem Solving Geography will assess content from across the themes using a variety of structured data response questions; part A will introduce an issue and set the geographical context, part B will outline a number of possible solutions to the issue and part C will provide an opportunity for the candidates to choose a solution and justify their choice in an extended response.

Paper 3 – Applied Fieldwork Enquiry has three parts which use a variety of structured data response questions some of which require extended responses; parts A and B will assess how fieldwork data is collected, presented, analysed, and used to investigate a specific geographical investigation, part C will assess the application of broad geographical concepts to a wider UK context and assess the ability of the pupils to make and justify a decision.

GCE

Students follow the WJEC Eduqas course.

What does the course involve?

This specification encourages students to apply geographical knowledge, theory and skills to the world around them, enabling them to develop a critical understanding of the world’s people, places and environments in the 21st century.

The focus of the specification is to develop an enthusiasm for and competence in geography by using contemporary real-world contexts, from a range of specified spatial scales, and through engagement with and practical application of geographical skills and techniques in the field.

The course has four components:

Component 1: Changing Landscapes and Changing Places

Changing Landscapes has a choice of two options. We have chosen Glaciated Landscapes as this is not often taught at GCSE and gives students an opportunity to study processes operating in cold environments both now and in the past that bring about changes to the landscape.
Changing Places is a compulsory theme and focuses on places and their dynamic characteristics. This will involve consideration of both economic and social change, with a focus on students’ ‘home’ place, and how and why ‘remaking’ of places occurs.

Component 2: Global Systems and Global Governance

Global systems considers the key role played by the water and carbon cycles in supporting life on Earth.
Global Governance considers global change and challenges through a study of global migration and the governance of the Earth’s oceans, including contemporary issues of refugee movements and managing ocean pollution.

Component 3: Contemporary Themes in Geography

Tectonic Hazards is a compulsory theme in which students will learn about the processes leading to volcanic and seismic events, and the impacts, responses and management of the hazards they present.
Contemporary Themes in Geography has four optional themes of which two must be studied. We have chosen these two:

Ecosystems - which allows students to study the importance of ecosystems, how they can be affected by human activity and how these impacts can be mitigated, with a focus on the Arctic tundra biome.
Weather & Climate – as this gives students an understanding of the factors influencing weather and climate at the global and UK scales; the hazards associated with extreme weather and climate change, and how both can be mitigated.

Component 4: Independent Investigation

This is the Non-Examined Assessment (NEA) that is integral to all A Level Geography courses. Students will devise their own investigation of a geographical question or issue at a local scale, collect data and present their findings in a written report.

How will you be examined?

This is a linear course with exam papers that assess Components 1, 2 and 3 at the end of the two years. Together, these are worth 80% of the total marks. The questions for Components 1 & 2 will involve a mixture of data response, structured short answer and extended writing tasks. Component 3 is examined through essays – one for each theme. For Component 4, students will produce a written report of between 3000-4000 words which will be marked by their teachers before being externally moderated. It is worth 20% of the total marks.

What could you do after completing the course?

Students often take undergraduate courses within the field of Geography, such as Human and/or Physical Geography, Marine Geography, Environmental Geoscience, or Earth Science. However, the skills and qualities developed through studying Geography are highly transferable into a wide range of roles and different working environments. UCAS highlight the employability of Geographers as having a ‘highly desirable suite of skills which are of a premium to all types of organisations’.