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Geography

The geography department at Carre's is situated in two specialist teaching rooms in the main teaching block (Rooms 19 and 22).

Staff

• Miss E Chaddock (Head of Department)
• Mr J Holland (Director of Humanities)
• Mr M Wilson

Resources

The department is well resourced with class sets of textbooks including the 'Geography 21' series, ‘Geography @ Work’ and 'Lett's Classbook' for Key Stage 3 (Years 7 to 9), ‘OCR GCSE Geography B', 'New Wider World' and 'Essential Mapwork Skills' for Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11) and ‘AS Geography’ and 'A2 Geography’ for Key Stage 5 (Years 12 and 13). In addition to this there are sets of textbooks relating to specific AS and A2 modules, a Geography Library for use by Year 12 and 13 students, and access to GeoFile Online, ‘Geo Factsheets’ and recent issues of ‘Geographical’, ‘Wide World’ and 'Geography Review' magazines.

The department also holds a wide range of fieldwork equipment including flow vanes, data loggers and sensors, ranging poles, tape measures and clinometers.

A suite of 15 networked PCs and a black and white laser printer are also found in Room 19. The department also makes use of AEGIS (a Geographical Information System) and digital map data in its schemes of work in all key stages.

Schemes of Work

Key Stage 3

In Year 7, the Units of Work include The Geography of the Local Area, Map Skills, Weather and Climate, Energy and World Sport. In Year 8, the students will study Brazil, Sustainable Development, Coastal Environments, and Population and Development, whilst in Year 9 students investigate Japan, Plate Tectonics, and Settlement before commencing on the GCSE course in the Summer Term.

Key Stage 4

The department offers GCSE OCR Specification B (J385).

The course covers 4 themes:

• Rivers & Coasts – river and coastal processes and landforms, flooding and sustainable management of flood plains and coasts
• Population and Settlement (MEDC & LEDC) - population structure and change, migration, changing land use and retail provision in rural and urban areas
• Natural Hazards – tectonic and climate hazards (MEDC and LEDC) – causes, effects and management
• Economic Development – characteristics of development, different types of economic activity, the role of multi-national corporations, and environmental impacts of economic activity

The course is assessed through two examinations and controlled assessment. One examination is a one hour ‘Sustainable Decision Making’ paper on one of the four themes outlined above worth 25% of the final grade. The other examination (worth 50% of the final grade) is a content-based 90 minute ‘Key Geographical Themes’ paper based on the three themes not covered in the Sustainable Decision Making paper. The remaining 25% is based on two controlled assessment tasks – one having a fieldwork focus, the other being a research-based ‘Geographical Investigation’.

Key Stage 5

The department offers the AQA GCE Geography specification (2030) as part of the Sleaford Joint Sixth Form consortium.

In Year 12 (AS Level), The Physical and Human Geography Unit (GEOG1) includes work on Rivers, floods and management, Coastal Environments, Population Change, and Energy Issues and is assessed through a 2 hour exam. The Geographical Skills Unit (GEOG2) develops the use and application of a variety of geographical skills, involves fieldwork, and is assessed through a 1 hour exam.

In Year 13 (A2 Level), the Contemporary Geographical Issues Unit (GEOG3) includes the study of Plate Tectonics and associated hazards, Weather and Climate and associated Hazards, and World Cities. The unit is assessed through a 2 hour 30 minute exam. The Geographical Issue Evaluation (GEO4B) demands the development of a range of geographical skills, knowledge and understanding, and is based on material released in an Advance Information Booklet released prior to the exam. This unit is assessed through an exam of 90 minutes.

Fieldwork Opportunities

The department endeavours to offer fieldwork wherever possible to support classroom teaching. At present, in Year 7, all students visit Lincoln as part of a joint Humanities trip looking at Tourism with the Geography department. In Year 8 all students visit Skegness to study the beach and tourist facilities. In Year 9, all students visit the Peak District to study characteristics of National Parks.  In Year 10 students spend a day collecting data for their GCSE coursework in different environments depending on the nature of the fieldwork focus. In Year 12, a two day residential visit to North Yorkshire develops fieldwork skills and involves a river study of the Upper Derwent and investigating coastal management strategies along the Holderness Coast. In Year 13 the students visit Sheffield in order to investigate housing issues and to evaluate the effectiveness of urban regeneration strategies.

Careers and Opportunities

You can study Geography with a large range of other subjects at GCSE and in the Sixth Form. You can then go on to one of the over 100 universities and other institutes of Higher Education offering degrees in Geography and related subjects. Geography offers key skills such as literacy, numeracy, communication, ICT and enquiry skills that are all relevant to the world of work.