The Grammar School for Girls Wilmington

The Geography Department at GSGW places a strong emphasis in Key Stage 3 on:

• developing geographical skills 
• an awareness of the issues that affect people across the world 
• an understanding of and an empathy for different cultures 
• an understanding of the physical processes that control our world and how we in turn modify these natural processes through our own actions

These aims are achieved through a careful blend of activities which encourage greater knowledge and understanding plus the ability to think independently. In this way, girls can use their understanding and knowledge in new and different contexts. Through Geography, the girls develop a greater understanding of the complex world that we live in and the difficult decisions that have to be made on a daily basis in order to ensure sustainable development and the common goal of a decent standard of living for all the people on the planet.

In Year 7 all girls complete a unit which begins by identifying the nature of geographical study and then develops a range of useful geographical and generic skills such as researching information, annotating photographs, using maps and presenting data graphically. The remainder of the year is spent in studying a variety of physical and human Geography topics which include a focus on settlement origins and patterns, floods and flood management, a brief exploration of England and what makes people English, and a section on the Geography of Sport that emphasises topicality each year.

Year 8 begins with a broad topic called ‘Can the Earth cope?’. This unit raises a wide variety of issues that illustrate the complex interrelationship between humans and the planet on which we live. The topic allows a variety of approaches including some independent research on Antarctica. After this, we take an in-depth look at Brazil followed by preparation for the summer term fieldwork in East Sussex. This concentrates on the physical Geography of the Cuckmere River and the management of tourism in the Seven Sisters Country Park.

The start of Year 9 begins with one of the most important and most complex topics in Geography – the study of development. Knowledge and understanding of the huge differences in standard of living between different parts of the world is vital to our understanding of much of the activity that goes on in the world e.g. continued destruction of the natural environment, trade and food supply, energy policy, conflict and much more. This is followed by an in depth study of one of our European Union partners – either France or Italy. The subsequent plate tectonics unit links into the combined Science/Geography visit to the Natural History Museum. A follow-up project on the huge Kobe earthquake in Japan provides the focus for one of the major assessments of the year. The final unit looks at the Geography of fashion and the impact that the process of globalisation has on everyone’s lives.

Fieldwork is an integral part of the work of the Geography department and the girls take part in a variety of activities in the local environment and within south-east England. Throughout the three years of Key Stage 3, the importance of the core skills of literacy and numeracy are constantly emphasised and developed. Geography also has an important role to play in cross-curricular subjects such as ICT and Citizenship.