Aims
The Geography Department at Notre Dame is an optimistic department that promotes the development of Christian attitudes through the breadth of the four key aspects of the National Curriculum:
- Geographical enquiry and skills
- Knowledge and understanding of places
- Knowledge and understanding of patterns and processes
- Knowledge and understanding of environmental change and sustainable development
- Students should enquire about the relationships and interactions between mankind and the environment and develop an awareness of the global future
- Just as the Earth includes all Nations, our department includes all students
- Every student will have their minds opened and challenged through the study of Geography at Notre Dame School
- Every student’s heart will be opened through the study of development and that they will develop an awareness of global citizenship and the problems of inequality
- Every students’ hands will be used to develop geographical skills through practical tasks and the use of I.T.
Curriculum
Key Stage 3
Year 7
Term 1: Fantastic places around the world
Term 2: Fantastic places around the world continued
Term 3: Rivers
Term 4: Coasts
Term 5: Your Island home: The UK
Term 6: Tourism and Plymouth, Barbican fieldwork
Year 8
Term 1: What is Weather and how does it affect us?
Term 2: World Climates
Term 3: Forest Ecosystems
Term 4: Global Warming
Term 5: Tectonic hazards
Term 6: Development
Term 2: World Climates
Term 3: Forest Ecosystems
Term 4: Global Warming
Term 5: Tectonic hazards
Term 6: Development
The students will study the following themes:
Paper 1: Living with the Physical Environment
What’s assessed:
Paper 1: Living with the Physical Environment
What’s assessed:
- The challenge of natural hazards
- The living world
- Physical landscapes in the UK
- Geographical skills
How it’s assessed:
- Written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes
- 88 marks (including 3 marks for spelling, punctuation, grammar and specialist terminology or SPaG)
- 35% of GCSE
Paper 2: Challenges in the human environment
What’s assessed:
What’s assessed:
- Urban issues and challenges
- The changing economic world
- The challenge of resource management
- Geographical skills
How it’s assessed:
- Written exam: 1 hour 30 minutes
- 88 marks (including 3 marks for SPaG)
- 35% of GCSE
Paper 3: Geographical applications
What’s assessed:
What’s assessed:
- Issue evaluation based on pre-released material
- Fieldwork
- Geographical skills
How it’s assessed:
- Written exam: 1 hour 15 minutes
- 76 marks (including 6 marks for SPaG)
- 30% of GCSE
- Pre-release resources booklet made available 12 weeks before Paper 3 exam
The Geography Department offers an A Level in Geography through the AQA board. Course content is as follows:
Component 1: Physical Geography
What’s assessed:
What’s assessed:
Students complete an individual investigation which must include data collected in the field. The individual investigation must be based on a question or issue defined and developed by the student relating to any part of the specification content.
How it’s assessed:
Component 1: Physical Geography
What’s assessed:
- Section A: Water and carbon cycles
- Section B: Coastal systems and landscapes
- Section C: Hazards
- Written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes
- 120 marks
- 40% of A Level
What’s assessed:
- Section A: Global systems and global governance
- Section B: Changing places
- Section 3: Contemporary urban environments
- Written exam: 2 hours 30 minutes
- 120 marks
- 40% of A Level
Students complete an individual investigation which must include data collected in the field. The individual investigation must be based on a question or issue defined and developed by the student relating to any part of the specification content.
How it’s assessed:
- 3,000 – 4,000 words
- 60 marks
- 20% of A Level
- Marked by teachers, moderated by AQA
Assessment
At Key Stage 3, students are provided with a range of peer and staff feedback around every 8 hours. Students will receive written or verbal feedback based on “what went well” and “even better if” in line with the school’s policy.
Assessment is made in through a variety of ways including formal testing, project work, essay writing and presentations and normal exercise work. Grades are then given and published at times of the year when progress reviews are generated. At Key Stages 4 and 5, assessment is a mix of formative and summative methods linked closely to the appropriate examination assessment objectives and the use of exam style questions in order to give a realistic grade for that particular piece of assessment at that particular time.