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Geography

"The study of geography is about more than just memorising places on a map. It's about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exist across continents. And in the end, it's about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together."

President Barack Obama

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Context

Geography at Deptford Green is about understanding and asking questions about the world around us. Why does the world function the way it does? Will this ever change? How do I personally have an impact on the planet? What might London look like in the future?

KS3

Geography at Deptford Green is taught through seven concepts. These concepts aim to provide all learners with:

  • Locational knowledge (understanding where places are)
  • Place knowledge (understanding how and why global cultures are different)
  • Process knowledge (understanding why physical and human landscapes change)
  • Sustainability knowledge (understanding how we impact our planet and whether we can reduce our impact)
  • Environmental knowledge (understanding how places look different and why)
  • Changing world knowledge (understanding how we are changing the world and what it might look like if we didn’t exist)
  • Connections knowledge (understanding how our everyday routines rely on global interactions)

These concepts are taught to learners through local (London), national (UK) and global contexts. To help learners appreciate how their lives are affected by geography they will have the opportunity to partake in numerous fieldwork investigations.

KS4

In Geography at GCSE learners will study six themes:

  • Autumn in year 10: The living world (exploring what life is like and how to survive in the rainforest and desert)
  • Spring in year 10: Physical landscapes in the UK (inspecting the landforms and process that take place at the coast and in rivers)
  • Summer in year 10: The challenge of natural hazards (investigating earthquakes and extreme weather)
  • Autumn in year 11: Urban issues and challenges (Compare cities around the world, including Rio and London)
  • Spring in year 11: The changing economic world (discover how the UK’s economy and Nigeria’s economy are different and what they might look like in the future)
  • Summer in year 11: The challenge of resource management (examine if resources across the world will ever be equally distributed and if everyone will ever have a sufficient amount of food and water)

Students will sit 3 exams in Year 11 on a range of geographical topics.

For more information about the GCSE course please visit https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/geography/gcse/geography-8035/subject-content

At GCSE, Geography requires learners to use a wealth of graphical, numerical and statistical skills https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/geography/gcse/geography-8035/subject-content

Class Activities and Enrichment

At Deptford the geography department likes to go that extra mile and offer its learners as full a learning experience as possible. For us this means:

  • All learners at Deptford get the chance to encounter guest speakers. These provide learners with first-hand accounts on the topics they are learning in class and range from refugees to environmental scientists.
  • All learners are welcome to attend geography club. This is a space where extra time can be devoted to creative geographical activities which may not always fit into the time constraints of the curriculum.
  • Those who opt to take GCSE geography are provided with a wealth of revision material which has been produced by different experts around the country. Learners also get the opportunity to attend revision sessions in the run up to their exams.

Trips

In geography, trips are a key component to understand how our world functions. At Deptford learners have the opportunity to partake in numerous trips including:

  • Thames Barrier - Exploring how flooding and the impact of climate change are being prevented in London (Year 8 - Autumn term).
  • Brighton beach - Discovering how the this beach has changed due to natural processes and how humans are trying to prevent these processes (Year 11 - Autumn term) 
  • The Crystal - Investigating what cities might look like in the future (Year 9 - Spring term).
  • London Olympic Park - Investigating the impact of the Olympics and how Stratford has changed over the last 40 years (Year 10 - Spring term).
  • An investigation into changing high streets across London, comparing and contrasting the different aspects of Deptford and Canary Wharf High Streets (Year 9 - Spring term).
  • Elysia Sustainable Catering - Exploring the environmental issues linked to our diets (Year 9 - Summer term).
  • International 4-night residential trip to Sorento. Learners will hike Mount Vesuvius to discover what lies inside, explore the destruction that this volcanic beast caused to Pompeii and how its surrounding areas still feel its impact today.
  • In addition, learners partake in a number of fieldwork studies on the school grounds itself. These include a traffic enquiry, microclimate investigation and an environmental study.

To see the geography department’s latest news (including updates on revision and trips) why not visit our Instagram or Twitter:

Instagram: @dghsgeography
Twitter: @dghsgeography

Still not convinced that geography is important? Please follow the link below and it will demonstrate why we at Deptford think it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRLJscAlk1M&t=6s

Please see below for our key department documents, and feel free to get in touch with any members of our team through the email addresses below:

  1. Geography Learning-Journey 2023
    pdf

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