Geography
Geography teaching at Stover School comes under the umbrella of the Humanities Department which also encompasses History and Religious Studies.
The study of Geography stimulates an interest in and a sense of wonder about places. It helps young people make sense of a complex and dynamically changing world. It explains where places are, how places and landscapes are formed, how people and their environment interact, and how a diverse range of economies, societies and environments are interconnected. It builds on students’ own experiences to investigate places at all scales, from the personal to the global.
Geographical enquiry encourages questioning, investigation and critical thinking about issues affecting the world and peoples’ lives, now and in the future. Fieldwork is an essential element in this. Students learn to think spatially and use maps, visual images and new technologies, including geographical information systems (GIS), to obtain, present and analyse information. Geography inspires students to become global citizens by exploring their own place in the world, their values and their responsibilities to other people, to the environment and to the sustainability of the planet.
GCSE
Subject Content
1. Living with the physical environment:
The dynamic nature of processes in physical geography, and how humans interact with them.
- Tectonic hazards, tropical storms, extreme weather in the UK, climate change.
- Physicallandscapes in the UK. Two from: coastal landscapes, river landscapes, glacial landscapes.
- The theliving world including: ecosystems, tropical rainforests and either hot deserts or cold environments.
2. Challenges in the human environment:
Human processes, systems and outcomes and how they change over time, and from place to place.
- Urbanissues and challenges.
- The changing economic world.
- Resourcemanagement, including one from: food, water or energy.
3. Geographical applications:
- Evaluationof geographical issues.
- Twopieces of fieldwork from contrasting environments, (physical and human).
- Geographicalskills: cartographic, graphical, numerical and statistical.
Assessment
Paper 1: Living with the physical environment (written exam).
1½ hours 35% of overall mark.
Paper 2: Challenges to the human environment (written exam)
1½ hours 35% of overall mark.
Paper 3: Geographical applications (written exam)
1 hour 30% of overall mark.