Department Staff: M. Mach – Teacher of Geography

                              Ms Ajmal – Teacher of Humanities/History

Subject intent

The Geography curriculum at Falconer school is designed to spark an interest in and provide answers about the natural and human aspects of the world. Students will be encouraged to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the world, as well as their place in it. The geography curriculum at Falconer School enables children to develop knowledge and skills that are transferable to other curriculum areas and which will promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Geography is, by nature, an investigative subject, which develops an understanding of concepts, knowledge and skills.

The curriculum is designed to ensure that teaching equips students with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As students’ progress through the school, their growing knowledge about the world helps them to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments. Geographical knowledge and skills are progressive and are sequenced to provide the framework and approaches that provide explanation of how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.

We seek to inspire a curiosity and fascination in our students about the world and its people which will remain with them for the rest of their lives, equipping them well for life outside of Falconer School.

Our Curriculum

Key Stage 3 overview

In Key stage three, we aim to provide students with the foundational knowledge of our world’s physical and human geography.

As our students move through the Key Stage three curriculum, we believe it is critical that students develop strong map skills which will help orient their learning in later years. Further along, students will be introduced to the foundational concepts of geography, including: countries and continents; climate change; the natural environment; agriculture; human cultures. The exploration of these topics will ensure that students will be able to comfortably and competently orient themselves within their place in the world and will supply them with the knowledge necessary to be successful in a GCSE geography course were they to wish to study it further.

Key Stage 4 overview

In KS4 students will follow the AQA GCSE specification. This exciting and relevant course studies geography in a balanced framework of physical and human themes and investigates the link between them.

Students will travel the world from their classroom, exploring case studies in the United Kingdom (UK), higher income countries (HICs), newly emerging economies (NEEs) and lower income countries (LICs). Topics of study include climate change, poverty, deprivation, global shifts in economic power and the challenge of sustainable resource use. Students are also encouraged to understand their role in society, by considering different viewpoints, values and attitudes. Upon completion of this two year course, students will have the skills and experience to progress onto A-level and beyond.

Useful Links:

BBC Newsround - https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround

BBC Bitesize (Geography KS3) - https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zrw76sg

Met Office - https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/

Natural Geographic - https://www.natgeokids.com/

Book Series – Horrible Geography by Anita Ganeri - https://shop.scholastic.co.uk/series/51