Geography
Geography is for everyone. It is fundamental in that it is the only subject that underpins a lifelong ‘conversation’ about the earth as the home of humankind.
At Warlingham, we want to inspire in our students a curiosity and fascination about their place in our world, and help them develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes that they need to understand and engage with our ever-changing planet and its people. This will leave our learners with the ability to apply their knowledge and conceptual understanding to the new settings that they experience in their lives to ‘think geographically’ about our changing world.
Our curriculum aims to ensure that all students develop geographical knowledge, conceptual understanding, Skills and Learner attributes through the twin disciplines of Human and Physical Geography. The curriculum is a progression model, through which the ‘big ideas’ are developed and built upon, as students develop their own schema for Geography.
Our big ideas or Core Concepts, through which all aspects of Geography can be linked to or explained by are:
The Core Concepts
- Place – the meaning of an area
- Environment - the physical area and distribution of a location
- Scale - local and global similarities/differences and change over time and space
- Interdependence - how two or more things connect and reply upon each other
- Physical / natural & human processes – the way that human and natural systems can cause change
- Environmental interaction – the ways in which humans and the environment influence and affect each other
- Sustainable development – how change can happen without negatively impacting the future
- Culture & diversity – distinctive characteristics and perspectives that people share and how this can differ around the world
Key stage 3
Year 7
Where do I really live?
What is my area really like?
- A foundational topic to set the scene for students before their ongoing journey in secondary school geography. They will learn basic map and fieldwork skills alongside land use changes in our area
Who are the British?
- An insight into the population and make up of the people in Britain. This includes migration, age, habitats and historical ethnic origins.
What is Britain made of?
- A topic based upon the land that sits beneath our feet and how the UK was physically made. We focus on geology and how it influences where we live.
How is life around the world different from ‘my world’?
- To finish the year we branch out of our local and regional area to explore a variety of different climates and biomes and how life adapts to those specific locations.
Year 8
What is my place in the world and why am I changing it?
Should we panic about the climate?
- The first term has all eyes on our climate and the changes it undergoes both naturally and those caused by humans. We look in depth at the reasons for climate change and how they impact our natural and human worlds. But the question remains as to how do we protect it all?
Why is flooding in Whyteleafe such an issue?
- With an understanding of global climate change we look at how it can affect our local area. Flooding in Whyteleafe is due to a range of climatic, human and geomorphological reason which we will explore.
How am I interconnected to the world?
- Humans have taken over the Earth like no other living organism has been able to do. We will study the way that we can communicate, work and influence one another from the opposite side of the world via the process of globalisation and what impacts this has on countries and individuals.
Is everyone equal?
- Using our knowledge from the previous topic we jump into equality around the world and why these differences exist.
Year 9
What powers shape the world we live in?
Will the Earth destroy us all?
- Our world is literally shaped by tectonics and large-scale physical processes that occur beneath our feet. These have outstanding affects on our surface and the cities that we populate nearby hazardous earthquake and volcanic zones.
What is life like around the equator?
- We move away from fire and rock to the lush and vibrant Rainforest biomes around the world. We look closely at how people, plants and animals adapt to this unique environment and how the Rainforest is being threatened.
What will start the next war?
- Unfortunately, our world is full of conflict. We identify geographical reasons why these conflicts exist, such as exploitation through globalisation and water and energy availability, all the while reminding the students of the Kindness strand of the Warlingham Learner.
key stage 4
GCSE – Edexcel B
Topic 1: Hazardous Earth
- An understanding of the global circulation of the atmosphere and changing climate - including two in-depth studies of tropical cyclones and tectonic hazards at contrasting locations.
Topic 2: Development dynamics
- An understanding of the scale of global inequality – including an in-depth study of how India (an emerging country) is developing, and the consequences for people, the environment, and its relationship with the wider world.
Topic 3: Challenges of an urbanising world
- An overview of the causes and challenges of rapid urbanisation across the world - including one in-depth study of Mumbai (a megacity) in India (an emerging country).
Topic 4: The UK's evolving physical landscape
- An overview of the varied physical landscapes in the UK resulting from geology, geomorphic processes and human activity over time – including two in-depth studies of distinctive landscapes: Coastal change and conflict and River processes and pressures.
Topic 5: The UK's evolving human landscape
- An overview of the changing and varied human landscape of the UK, outlining the socio-economic and political processes that influence it - including a case study of a major UK city: London.
Topic 6: Geographical investigations
- Two investigations - including fieldwork and research - carried out in contrasting environments: Norfolk for 'Coastal change and conflict', and Norwich for 'Dynamic urban areas’.
Topic 7: People and the biosphere
- An overview of the global distribution and characteristics of large-scale ecosystems, why the biosphere is important to human wellbeing and how humans use and modify it in order to obtain resources.
Topic 8: Forests under threat
- A detailed study of Tropical Rainforests and the Taiga, looking at processes and interactions and issues related to their biodiversity and to their sustainable use and management
Topic 9: Consuming energy resources
- A study of renewable and non-renewable energy, its supply and demand, access and energy security issues, its sustainable use and management
Key Stage 5
Pearson Edexcel A Level Geography (9GE0)
Topic 1: Tectonic Processes and Hazards
- What causes earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis? How do they affect parts of the world differently, and how we can manage them?
Topic 2: Coastal Landscapes and Change
- How do coastal landscapes differ around the world? How could sea-level changes affect us, and how we can manage these challenges?
Topic 3: Globalisation
- How are we connected with the rest of the world? Why does how you live your life affect other people negatively?
Topic 4: Regenerating Places
- Why are some parts of the UK deprived? What makes your life better than others who live in the same country? How can we manage this?
Topic 5: The Water Cycle & Water Insecurity
- What are the physical controls on who gets water on the planet? Why are we so lucky? How can we manage water to stop so many people dying?
Topic 6: The Carbon Cycle & Energy Security
- How does the Carbon Cycle link you to life millions of years ago? How does your life depend upon it? How is our use of Carbon killing the planet?
Topic 7: Superpowers
- Which countries rule the world? WHY?! Who should we be most worried about in the future?
Topic 8: Health, Human Rights & Intervention
- Why are some nations more developed than others? How can we measure their differences and help the people within? Why are some people in the world still affected by war and slavery?