Alliance for
Learning
Geography
Don’t just live in the world, learn to change it.
- Extra Curricular Opportunities
- Fieldwork Opportunities
- Education and Career Opportunities
- Key Stage 3
- Key Stage 4
- Key Stage 5
The world we live in is rapidly changing, perhaps more so now than ever. Geography increases our awareness and understanding of this change and empowers us to become active global citizens. Geography at Altrincham Grammar School for Girls is an exciting, dynamic subject. Students enjoy their classroom learning and attainment is consistently high. The department runs extra-curricular activities and fieldtrips for each Key Stage.
@AGGS_geog 
Extra-curricular opportunities
| Key stage | Extra Curricular |
|---|---|
| 3 |
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| 4 |
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| 5 |
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Fieldwork Opportunities
The Geography Department provides a wide range of fieldwork activities for all years:
| Key stage | Fieldwork |
|---|---|
| 3 |
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| 4 |
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| 5 |
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| 4 and 5 |
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Education and Career Opportunities
Geography provides students with the opportunity to acquire an understanding of important issues and a wide range of transferable skills. Higher education and the world of work both recognise qualifications in Geography as being highly desirable for a wide range of university courses and employment types.
Key Stage 3 – Year 7-9
Geography is taught in six mixed ability classes which tend to approximately 30 pupils in size. Years 7 and 9 have three one-hour lessons per fortnight and Year 8 have two one-hour lessons per fortnight.
The Key Stage 3 course aims to provide pupils with the core knowledge, understanding and skills to become outstanding geographers, and aims to stimulate interest in the subject. In Year 7, students gain a knowledge and sense of place, develop their map skills and begin to study geographical issues from a local to global scale. In Year 8 and Year 9, pupils progress to investigate a wider range of issues, and by Year 9 pupils will have progressed to work more independently, analyse geographical data in detail, appreciate different viewpoints, show greater creativity and make and justify geographical decisions.
Fieldwork is used to develop curiosity in the subject and support learning. Year 8 pupils collect data on infiltration rates on the school site and participate in a day fieldtrip to a coastal resort to investigate coastal processes and tourism. Year 9 pupils participate in a day fieldtrip to Salford Quays to investigate the impacts of urban regeneration.
The Key Stage 3 course:
| Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 |
|---|---|---|
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Key Stage 4 – GCSE
Exam Board: Edexcel, Specification B
Geography is taught in mixed ability classes which tend to be between 20 and 30 pupils in size. Year 10 has five one-hour lessons per fortnight and Year 11 has six one-hour lessons per fortnight. Typical pupil numbers studying geography in each year group at GCSE are over 110.
The GCSE course is relevant and exciting. It provides pupils with the opportunity to develop a greater knowledge and understanding of some of the most prominent issues facing society today.
A range of geographical issues are studied at different scales (local, regional, national and global). Examples include the urban characteristics of Manchester, flood risk and management in the United Kingdom, the Nepal earthquake of 2015, variations in development in India, deforestation in the Amazon and global climate change.
Pupils develop a wide range of skills throughout the GCSE course, including literacy, numeracy, data collection and data presentation, understanding of values and attitudes, teamwork, problem solving, decision making and use of information and communication technology.
Fieldwork is used to support learning in Geography. Pupils participate in a day fieldtrip to investigate river characteristics and flood risk in the Lake District and a day fieldtrip to investigate variations in quality of life in Manchester. The Department has also run optional residential fieldtrips to Iceland in recent years to investigate coastal, glacial and volcanic landscapes.
The GCSE course (teaching from September 2016):
| Component | Content | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
|
Component 1: Global Geographical Issues |
Topic 1: Hazardous Earth – including extreme weather events and tectonic hazards Topic 2: Development dynamics – including global inequalities and a focus on an emerging country Topic 3: Challenges of an urbanising world – including causes and challenge of urban change and a focus on one megacity |
Written examination 1 hour 30 minutes 37.5% of qualification |
|
Component 2: UK Geographical Issues |
Topic 4: The UK’s evolving physical landscape – including sub-topics 4A: Coastal change and conflict and 4B: River processes and pressures. Topic 5: The UK’s evolving human landscape – including why places and people are changing and a focus on one UK city. Topic 6: Geographical investigations – including one physical fieldwork investigation and one human fieldwork investigation. |
Written examination 1 hour 30 minutes 37.5% of qualification |
|
Component 3: People and Environment Issues – Making Geographical Decisions |
Topic 7: People and the biosphere –including the distribution of biomes, the importance of the biosphere and how humans modify it Topic 8: Forests under threat – includes threats and management of coniferous forests and rainforests Topic 9: Consuming energy resources – including the growing demand for energy and environmental impacts of energy use |
Written examination 1 hour and 30 minutes 25% of the qualification |
Key Stage 5 – AS and A2 Level
Examination Board: Edexcel
Geography is taught in classes which tend to be between 10 and 20 pupils in size. Typical pupil numbers studying geography in each year group at A Level are over 40.
The course is relevant and exciting and helps pupils develop geography-related and broader attributes that are important for post-18 education. It provides pupils with the opportunity to develop a greater knowledge and understanding of headline global issues and empowers them to consider how these issues can be tackled to enable sustainable futures.
A range of geographical issues are studied at different scales (local, regional, national and global). Examples include coastal erosion on the UK coastline, the regeneration of Scarborough, tourism threats to Machu Picchu, the emergence of China as a global superpower, water conflicts in North Africa, changes to the global carbon cycle and their implications, and changing carbon the impacts and management of global climate change.
Pupils further develop a wide range of skills throughout the course, including literacy (including essay and report writing], numeracy [including statistical analysis], data collection and data presentation, understanding of values and attitudes, teamwork, problem solving, decision making, independent learning and use of information and communication technology.
Fieldwork and research are very important aspects of the course. Pupils participate in a five day fieldtrip to The Cranedale Centre in North Yorkshire. This supports pupils in developing their understanding of geographical processes and issues, and supports them in developing the skills required to undertake their own Independent Investigation which is 20% of the A Level course. The Department has also run optional residential fieldtrips to Iceland in recent years to investigate coastal, glacial and volcanic landscapes.
Independent learning is an important aspect of the A Level course. Pupils are expected to read about the subject, using our aggs_geog Twitter account and other sources. Throughout the course, pupils have the opportunity to attend numerous university style lectures that support and enhance their learning. These include Geographical Association lectures at Manchester University and the Trafford Grammar Schools Lecture Series, which the department recently initiated. Pupils also run their own Sixth Form geography society, GeogSoc, and the Key Stage 3 Geography Club.
The A Level course (teaching from September 2016):
| Area of study | Content | Assessment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Area of study 1: Dynamic Landscapes | Topic 1: Tectonic Processes and Hazards Earthquakes and volcanoes – causes, impacts and responses |
Paper 1: Written examination 2 hours 30% of A Level qualification 90 marks Examines Areas of study 1 and 3 |
Paper 3: Written examination 1 hour 45 minutes 20% of A Level qualification 60 marks Based on a geographical issue within a place-based context that links to synoptic themes and is rooted in two or more of the compulsory content areas |
| Topic 2: Landscape Systems, Processes and Change Option 2.2: Coastal Landscapes and Change |
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| Area of study 3: Physical Systems and Sustainability | Topic 5: The Water Cycle and Water Insecurity Physical processes controlling water circulation and the growth, impacts and management of water insecurity |
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| Topic 6: The Carbon Cycle and Energy Security Physical processes controlling carbon movements and changes to carbon stores, including reliance on fossil fuels |
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| Area of study 2: Dynamic Places | Topic 3: Globalisation Interdependence, shifting wealth and regional/national inequalities, plus environmental and cultural impacts |
Paper 2: Written examination 2 hours 30% of A Level qualification 90 marks Examines Areas of study 2 and 4 |
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| Topic 4: Shaping Places Option 4.1: Regenerating Places |
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| Area of study 4: Human Systems and Geopolitics | Topic 7: Superpowers Superpower characteristics, the changing pattern of dominance and geopolitical influence and conflict |
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| Topic 8: Global Development and Connections Option 8.2: Migration, Identity and Sovereignty |
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| Independent Investigation | An independent investigation relating to the compulsory or optional content, incorporating fieldwork data (collected individually or as part of a group) and own research and/or secondary data. | Coursework 3000 – 4000 word written report 20% of qualification 60 marks |
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