Geography
Miss L Campbell - Head of Geography
Miss S Fakhoury
Key Stage 3
The shortened key stage 3 is an exciting mixture of human and physical geography including volcanoes and earthquakes, rainforests, population and rivers and coasts. These form a good basis to the GCSE where students re-visit
some of the topics in more detail as well as studying new topics for the first time.
The introduction of fieldwork in key stage 3 is to help to increase enthusiasm and interest in the subject and there is an exciting range of field trips on offer for the current Years 7, 8 and 9. Year 9 embark on the impossible in the UK and visit a rainforest In the spring and summer terms Year 7 and 8 will be going on field trips to help with their understanding of rivers and coasts. This is an exciting time to be doing geography!
The topics studied in Key Stage 3 Geography are:
Year 7
- What is Geography?
- Rivers and flooding
- Our island home
- Making connections
- Settlement
- A country study
Year 8
- The challenge of weather and climate
- Our home continent?
- Where do people live?
- Why do people move?
- Our coastal environments
Year 9
- Ecosystems and rainforests
- The development gap
- Tectonics and their hazards
- Climate change and sustainability
- Key stage 4 skills
- Brighter futures – exploration of the skills and knowledge needed for the future.
GCSE Geography
The students who choose Geography at GCSE follow the new AQA A Geography course from September 2009. This is a brand new, revised and up to date syllabus that covers everything from Tourism and the Development Gap to Water on the Land and the Restless Earth. They will also have field work in order to complete their controlled assessment, which is the piece of work that replaces the traditional coursework task from previous years.
The course is split into Human Geography and Physical Geography and the units that will be studied at The Bushey Academy from 2009 will be:
Physical Geography:
The Restless Earth
Water on the Land
The Coastal Zone
Human Geography:
Population Change
The Development Gap
Tourism
These topics provide a balanced and interesting combination of subjects to study at GCSE level, with the hope that students will consider taking up the A Level.
Assessment: The assessment for this course will consist of 2 examinations at the end of Year 11 (37.5% each) as well as one piece of controlled assessment completed in lesson time (25%).
For more information and specimen questions visit the AQA website
A-Level Geography
The students taking the A Level in Geography are also following a new AQA course. This is a new, dynamic and fresh look at Geography, incorporating contemporary issues and challenging major world issues such as flooding, energy issues and population issues. Both years at A Level require field work and one of these trips will be to Ireland in the spring term. This allows students to refine skills, planning and risk assessments and enables them to plan and execute their own trips.
This course is split into two years, AS and A2. Continuation of study onto A2 is not essential and students will still receive a qualification of AS level Geography should they not wish to continue.
The topics covered are:
AS Level
Physical topics:
Rivers, Floods and their Management
The Coastal Zone
Human topics:
Global Population Change
Energy Issues
Geographical Skills are examined separately. This is based on fieldwork.
A2 Level
Physical topics:
Plate tectonics and associated hazards
Weather and climate and associated hazards
Human topics:
Development and globalization
The other unit that will be studied is a fieldwork investigation.
The AS level is assessed with two examinations; one examining Geographical Skills and the other examining the physical and human content and its application.
The A2 is assessed by two examinations also.
For past papers, specimen questions and further information visit the AQA website
New for 2009 at The Bushey Academy – a practical Geography room where all students can learn with hands-on activities like the new indoor river and a live weather station!