Geography
“Geography illustrates the past, explains the present and prepares us for the future. What could be more important than that?” Michael Palin
Our intent for a high quality geography education is to inspire in students, regardless of their background, a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Teaching should equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources so that it engenders a mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. In addition, teaching will provide all students with knowledge about natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes. As students progress, their growing knowledge about the world should help 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, understanding and skills provide the frameworks and approaches that explain how the Earth’s features at different scales are shaped, interconnected and change over time.
Aims
The geography curriculum at Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School aims to ensure that students from all backgrounds:
- Experience an aspirational, high-achievement culture, which fosters resilience in academic study, whilst taking into account individual needs and styles.
- Develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places including there defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes
- Understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time
Are competent in the geographical skills needed to:
- collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes
- interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
- communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.
“This is a great age for geography. Very big questions - climate, poverty, disease, migration, water, energy, biodiversity - all demand geographical analysis, as do specific national issues in the UK, like housing, social deprivation, flooding and regional development. As the population grows, and with pressures on the Earth’s systems increasing, geography has never been so important.” Nicholas Crane (RGS-IBG Immediate Past President)
Key Stage 4 Curriculum
Details of the Key Stage 4 Geography subject content and examination board.
Key Stage 5 Curriculum
Full details can be found on our Sixth Form Subjects Offered page.