Geography

Geography Curriculum Vision

It is our intention to develop young geographers.  Learning geography helps to prepare our pupils for life in the 21st century with all of its currently unknown possibilities, and as our vision states, we want every pupil to reach their God-given potential and become successful, contributing citizens. Geographers make links and connections between the natural world and human activity. It involves our pupils in exploring the relationship and interactions between people and the environments in which they live and upon which they depend. Many of the pupils who now attend our school will live to see the next century and inhabit a world of eleven billion people. The many opportunities and challenges that will arise during their lifetime will be very much about geography – personal, local, national and global.

In line with the statutory requirements of the national curriculum for geography which must be balanced and broadly based, our school commits to ensuring that every pupil at every stage of learning has regular and appropriately challenging and engaging learning in geography. In addition, we will ensure that what our pupils learn in geography and how they learn it not only inspires and challenges them intellectually but also contributes to their spiritual, moral, cultural and physical development and helps to prepare them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of life in an increasingly globalised world.

In accordance therefore, with the importance we attach to geography, our subject provision will:

• stimulate pupils’ interest - in their surroundings and in the rich variety of human and physical conditions on the earth’s surface;
• foster pupils’ sense of awe and wonder- at the beauty of the world surrounding them;
• help pupils develop an informed concern - about the quality of the environment and the future of the human habitat;
• enhance pupils’ sense of responsibility for the care of the earth and its people and secure their commitment to promoting and living sustainable lifestyles;
• develop pupils’ skills of critical enquiry and an ability to handle and interpret information, through asking and answering geographical questions and using an increasingly sophisticated range of technology to communicate with and explore a variety of people, places and environments across the world;
• help pupils explore values and attitudes about complex issues such as sustainability and sustainable development and develop a positive outlook and disposition;
• enable pupils to study the above across a range of places, cultures and environments and at a variety of scales, from local to global;
• foster a sense of understanding about how all peoples and communities around the world are interconnected and interdependent with each other and the ecosystems of which they are an integral part and upon which we all depend;
• help build our pupil’s cultural capital through, in addition to providing the essential knowledge and understanding they need to be successful, enhancing their experiences and interactions with the ‘awe and wonder’ of the world especially through regular fieldwork in contrasting environments.

The Key Geographical Concepts they will learn are:

Locational Knowledge

To know that the UK is made up of four countries, each with its own capital city and to be able to name and locate these. To know that the UK has different regions made up of different landscapes including rivers, mountains and coasts and be able to name and locate some of these along with named key cities. To be able to identify the UK by shape in any situation.

This image belows exemplifies how knowledge is connected through a child's journey at Malvern Wells around the idea of the Malvern Hills:

To know that the world is made up of continents and oceans and be able to name and locate these on a map/globe.  To know names and key facts about specific countries and cities of the world with a focus on Europe, North and South America and countries linked to the cultural background of the children.

Be able to identify the position of lines of latitude and longitude, the Equator, Northern and Southern hemispheres, Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, Greenwich meridian and time zones and to be able to understand and explain their significance

Human and Physical Knowledge

To be able to identify the key physical features of continents and countries such as rainforest, desert, mountains, climates and the key human features of these continents and countries and how they differ from or are the same as, where they live.

Focus on a key environmental issue– to understand the geographical and human impact of an issue such as climate change/plastic and waste

Geography Skills

Use world maps, atlases, globes, aerial photos, digital mapping/google earth to identify the UK and its countries, as well as the countries, continents and oceans studied.  

To use compass directions (4 or 8 points) and be able to navigate using a map.