Geography

At Our Lady & St John we aim to create the best geographers. We do this by challenging our pupils to think, act and speak like a geographer. The Geography curriculum is designed to inspire our pupil’s curiosity about the world and deepen their understanding of both the natural and human environment. Through studying a range of topics pupils gain confidence and experience that help them interact with the wider world, with themes such as climate change, global economies, development, and sustainability, thus enabling them to become global citizens.

Aims – Key Stage 3 (Year 7-9)

Pupils will build on their knowledge and understanding from Key Stage 2. They will study a series of engaging units, from global issues to plate tectonics, which aim to enthuse and encourage a passion for Geography. We aim to not only develop student’s geographical knowledge, but also skills which can be applied throughout other topics and subjects, and in their later life. We embed social, emotional, and moral development throughout geography (for example, year 9 pupils look at developing countries and compare standards of living in slums, Year 7 learn about Africa’s ‘Single Story’).

Aims – Key Stage 4 (Year 10-11)

In Year 10 and 11 pupils are taught a variety of topics that aim to excite and enthuse them throughout. Topics are based around the AQA Specification, encouraging pupils to ask questions, develop their critical thinking skills, GIS skills, and cartography, as well as bridging the gap in Science, physical processes, the quantitate skills of Mathematics and the creativity and writing in English. Fieldwork is carried out for both human and physical geography allowing pupils to relate learning to real world experiences.