Geography
KS3 Curriculum Intent and Rationale:
Each scheme of learning looks at a new continent and as such students develop a sense of place and an understanding of how the world fits together. The teaching of the subject through the study of continents allows learning to be based on a variety of real-world places and allows students to see a range of diverse cultures and physical environments. This allows students from diverse background to see themselves represented within the curriculum and to feel valued. The curriculum forms a spiral – we revisit each of the key topics within geography during each scheme of learning and the students add breadth and depth of knowledge each time. This allows the students to understand how their prior knowledge from one continent fits in with the new knowledge from another. This builds broad schemas of understanding and supporting students to apply knowledge in new contexts. This also allows “time to forget” and gives multiple opportunities for recall questioning to strengthen understanding and fits well alongside The Mandeville School’s Teaching & Learning policy.Following on from the journey across the 7 continents the curriculum moves closer to home with a study of Aylesbury and fieldwork both in school and within their local community allowing them to see how the key principles they have learnt are applied. This develops students’ curiosity about the world they live in and allows them to start asking questions using a geographical framework.
In the final year of KS3 students are prepared for GCSE with a unit focused on explicit instruction and consolidation of key cartographic and mathematical skills that have previously been studied by students as opportunities arise within their learning. This is followed by a scheme of learning which picks up of key themes within geography that provide breath of understanding and gives a strong base on which students can progress to learn at GCSE
KS4 Curriculum Intent and Rationale:
The KS4 Geography curriculum builds on the knowledge and skills our pupils acquire through our KS3 curriculum.
In geography students investigate issues affecting the world and people’s lives, now and in the future. They are given the tools to make sense of a complex and dynamically changing world, at all different scales. Pupils learn where places are, and what they are like. They learn how the physical and human geography of a place shapes it and the people living and working there.
The KS4 curriculum focuses on the provision of knowledge and challenging pupils. Our curriculum is one in which knowledge is not merely encountered but comprehended and remembered. This is ensured through consistent application of retrieval practice principles and to ensuring that pupils are equipped with the language to engage with topics in a meaningful way. At all times we are seeking to equip students with new language with which to describe geographical concepts and phenomena. This enables students to clearly demonstrate their understanding of the subject and to apply principles in new contexts. All of this prepares them for external examinations and to study Geography further in the future.
