Head of Department - Miss J Gidman, M.A.
The Geography Department is dynamic, creative and highly successful.
Our aim is for all pupils to become enquiring geographers, inside and outside of the classroom – discovering and exploring their own place in the world and the world around them.
We want pupils to be able to explain and understand the relationships between people and their environment, including their responsibility to the sustainability of the planet.
We endeavour to foster a lifelong love of geography so that our geographers continue to see the importance of global geographical issues and understand their relevance to future decision-making well beyond their time at school.
Throughout Key Stage 3, GCSE and ‘A’ Level, pupils study how our world has changed from the past to the present and how it may change in the future. This is achieved through the study of a range of topics including: Why is Indonesia an amazing place? What is a sustainable World? Why does conflict exist? How does disease link to geography? We encourage pupils to ‘Speak like a Geographer’, helping them to improve on their oracy and literacy.
Geography at GCSE and Advanced Level in the Sixth Form is a successful option. The department also offers a BTEC TECH course in Travel and Tourism at Key Stage 4.
A diverse range of exciting fieldwork opportunities that support and enhance the curriculum is offered. Year 7 pupils visit a village in Surrey to help them see how life is similar and different in a rural setting. Year 8 complete fieldwork on the school site to determine how sustainable it is. Year 9 carry out infiltration fieldwork on the school grounds and most able pupils in Year 9 complete a geography challenge in Oxford. Year 12 pupils spend four days in London and at the coast, preparing for their Independent Investigation. Whilst Year 10 visit Seaford and in Year 11, Slough and Windsor, to prepare them for their examined fieldwork in Paper 2.
Extra-curricular activities include a weekly Geography club, in which pupils take part in competitions such as the Antarctica Flag competition and create models of the water cycle, tropical rainforests and volcanoes. We also run Geography Homework Support Clubs, and a Worldwise week and assembly.
