Geography
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The Bishop Challoner Geography department have a vision and a mission to instill a sense of awe and wonder for the physical and human environments in which our pupils find themselves. We would like to think that, through our challenging and stimulating programmes of study, we help pupils to find the answers to any questions they may have about the world around them and the organisms that live on it. After all, as a wise Geographer once said, "The world is our text book".
Below you will find information about what our pupils study at Key Stages 3, 4 & 5.
Year 7
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Units in Year 7 are intended to stimulate interest in enthusiasm for Geography thus local places and distant places are studied, skills are developed and physical topics are covered. We spend a whole term looking at natural disasters including future mega-disasters. This always engages students and gives us the flexibility to look at natural disasters in current affairs.
Students come to Bishop Challoner with varying experiences of KS2 geography and so in Year 7 courses are designed to establish their understanding through baseline testing, and develop their awareness of the subject, competence in basic skills and their existing geographical knowledge ("Baseline Tests" and "Geographical Skills" units), and help them develop a "personal geography" and appreciation of place through the "Who is Really English?" unit. The local area is studied and students are encouraged to make physical, human and environmental observations of this and their home area thus easing their transition into Bishop Challoner ("Geographical Skills" unit). Skills and knowledge are further developed by studying a case study country in the final half term mystery unit and beginning the study of how physical and human geography meet ("Natural Disasters" unit). Independent study is also encouraged specifically through the country-based mystery unit.
Year 8
- Units in Year 8 focus on studies at all scales, beginning with "Crime in the Community". This unit has obvious citizenship links as does the "Climate Change and Ecosystems" unit. There is a mix of human and physical themes. Pupils thoroughly enjoy the "Exploring Brazil" unit, particularly when they get to genetically create their own rainforest creature.
Year 9
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Year 9 has a strong global focus and brings together in-depth understanding of important concepts i.e. sustainable development. The Year 9 scheme is intended to bring human and physical geography together and giving students a global environmental view. Natural disasters are re-visited in Year 9 with a specific focus on how humans are affected and how they can affect the causes and outcomes of them. The "Future of Tourism" and "Global Fashion" units really help our pupils understand how they are inter-connected with and interdependant on other countries all around the world.
In the final half term of every year the whole of Key Stage 3 embark on an interactive, country-based mystery. In these units they learn about a specific country whilst attempting to foil a villain's treacherous plans, usually with the help of a celebrity or two! Previous unit titles include "Mission In Portugal", "Indiana Jones and the Missing Dodo Egg of South Africa", "Dr Who and the Germany World Cup 2006", "The Shimano Code - Inspector Poirot and The Tour de France", "The Return of Genghis Khan" featuring The Beastie Boys and the China Olympics and "The Geogfather and the Italian Job"
Throughout Key Stage 3 students increasingly:
- Broaden and deepen their knowledge and understanding of places and themes.
- Make use of a wider and more precise geographical vocabulary.
- Analyse geographical patterns, processes and changes.
- Appreciate the interactions within and between physical and human
processes. - Appreciate that places are interdependent.
- Study a wider range of scales, places and environments.
- Apply geographical knowledge and understanding to unfamiliar contexts.
- Select and effectively use of skills to support geographical investigations.
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Geography is consistently one of the most popular options at GCSE. Pupils follow the incredibly relevant Edexcel B GCSE course. Units include "Population Dynamics", "Consuming Resources", "Restless Earth" and "Climate and Change".
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Lessons and schemes of work are designed to be varied in content, resource and activity. Coursework is a major assessment component and the department has monitoring and feedback systems in place to support achievement.
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Fieldwork is an important part of GCSE Geography, which is usually based around Kings Heath High Street or Birmingham's City Centre.
- All geography staff closely monitor pupil progress in line with expectations based on KS3 APS. Progress is reported at regular intervals throughout the key stage.
- Pupils follow the AS and A2 Edexcel specification. This specification is highly relevant to the realities and challenges that these young adults will face later in life, such as climate change, increased globalisation and the growth and emergence new world superpowers. Indeed we would like to hope that some of our A-Level pupils may be the future scientists that overcome these challenges. The course builds on the conceptual development achieved at KS4 and emphasises a balanced understanding of human and physical environments in a topical context. The specification offers choice of study and a varied assessment package that is well suited to our pupils.
- Once again, fieldwork is an essential part of A-Level Geography. Our fieldwork is usually covered by a trip to the outstanding North Norfolk coastline where pupils enjoy learning about crowded coasts and rural re-branding. They also enjoy climbing, abseiling, the leap of faith, archery and outdoor laser quest at The Kingswood Centre.
- Pupils with a real interest in the natural world can join our "Freaks of Nature" club where we watch episodes from the stunning and breathtaking BBC series "Blue Planet", "Life in the Undergrowth" and "Planet Earth".
