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Geography
The Geography Department seeks to enable students to make sense of their world, and to understand the processes, both human and physical that shape it.
Geography is a contemporary and dynamic subject which addresses issues such as ‘Climate change’ ‘Resource depletion’ and ‘Sustainable Development’.
These issues raise crucial questions about the sort of future society that we wish to create.
Therefore it is extremely relevant for today’s school children.
All students are taught Geography in Years 8 and 9. Students in year 7 learn Geographical skills through a creative curriculum scheme of work.
Class sizes are generally 27 in KS3 and between 20 and 30 at GCSE.
Students have two lessons of 50 minutes per week in Years 8 and 9, and three 50 minute lessons at GCSE.
Currently, Geography GCSE attracts around 50 students in each year group, where we follow the Avery Hill Syllabus. Exam success has contributed to the growth in numbers.
GCSE results have been consistently good and improving year on year.

Geography

There are 4 members of staff, 2 on a full time table of geography and 2 who are on half timetable due to other school commitments.
The Geography Department is located in the Millennium building. There are four fully equipped rooms with interactive whiteboards, visual displays and a wide range of resources. (See Images).


Course outline at KS3 and KS4

Main themes and topics covered.
Year 7
 Freedom (Fairtrade and its impacts). Identity (
Multicultural London), Origins (settlements with special focus on Rochester), Culture (Location and key features of India), My world (Stewardship and recycling).
Year 8
Atlas skills, Population, Peru (focusing on tropical rainforests, mountain and desert environments, Lima and the shanty towns), Japan (focusing on human and physical features of urban and rural areas, industry, earthquakes and volcanoes).
Year 9
Development issues – investigating the reasons for countries various levels of economic development (case studies include Kenya, Brazil, china and Italy). Physical Geography investigating coasts and problems of coastal erosion.
GCSE
 Four units are studied focusing on People and Place (urban issues such as access to housing and services, transport and leisure in both LEDC’s and EMDC’s), Water, Landforms and People (investigates the water cycle and river and coastal geography), Climate, the Environment and People (weather and climate issues and major world ecosystems such as rainforests and wetlands ect), People, Work and Employment (investigates a variety of primary, secondary and tertiary industries e.g. the impacts of multinational companies, sustainable tourism ect). There are also two pieces of coursework, a written report investigating Hazards and an Individual Study based upon local fieldwork.

 
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