GEOGRAPHY - learning journey & curriculum

In Geography, students develop a holistic view of the world as it is, as it was, and how it may become. Modern cultures are fundamentally place-based, pre-determined by the influence of the land on borders, cuisine, architecture, and more, and so to fully understand the people, we must also understand our land. Students are given the ability talk like, write like, and think like a geographer by asking questions about these places and people, transforming lives in the process. When writing like Geographers, it is important that students learn to express a chain of reasoning, so students learn to use what they know from one context in another; think about alternative options; and consider their influence on decisions.

Cultural and historical capital is built as pupils learn about diverse places, people, resources and processes. This is particularly important when presented with a ‘single story’ view of a place. We tackle these misconceptions by making sure students research the context of a place before learning about the geographical theory there, and within topics such as “Are we all the same?”. Geography creates opportunities to think critically about the news and world affairs, but also to explore more about where we live. It will also drive respect in our pupils, helping them to appreciate the diversity of cultures and their origins and inspire their futures.

Our KS3 curriculum goes beyond the national curriculum and explores the key themes of sustainability, diversity, development, space and place, and ecosystems at risk. This creates a wide base of knowledge that students can build upon at KS4/5. We use a variety of case studies at different scales, to help students draw comparisons between places, and understand the context of events. We also build student understanding of how to achieve the highest grades, through studying marks schemes and high quality exemplars regularly.

Students leave Cleeve with a broad, diverse, and detailed understanding of the world, regardless of at which phase their Geography journey ends. Our goal is for students to be empathetic, understanding, curious, critical thinkers, who are good listeners, and can formulate discussion and debate. Not only will this transform the lives of our pupils, but as the next generation of leaders, this has the potential to transform the lives of those around them too.

It is imperative that students see themselves represented in their curriculum. It is also imperative that students see others represented that they may not have immediate contact with within their immediate communities. Students learn about every continent at some point in their learning journey, with multiple examples from many of the continents. For example, in their second topic of Year 7, students approach the question “What makes us British?” by studying the poem “The British” by Benjamin Zephaniah. This allows students to see the role that migration has played in shaping our modern culture(s) and identity(ies) in Britian. Similarly, the “Are we all the same?” topic has students explores the inequalities within countries and continents and encourages students to question the single story narrative they may access via media outlets.

Students are supported in their learning through consistent lesson structures and scaffolds which are removed as students develop their confidence in writing like a Geographer.

Each of our curriculum builds on the learning from the key stage it follows. It is not always imperative that their knowledge of individual place is built upon at each key stage, however the skills and themes embedded throughout all three of our key stages remain the same.

Our curriculum starts with students building knowledge about our local place in “What can I learn about the place around me?”. This is a point of comparison for learning about other places around the world to ensure that pupils fully understand the nuances of other areas of the country, and in the world.

To prepare students for KS4 or 5, we begin to build knowledge of some concepts and processes in KS3. For example, to understand their local area, students need to understand the impact of rivers on their landscapes. Therefore, understanding fluvial processes begins in term 3 of year 7, and continue until the end of key stage 5. Similarly, the concept of Changing Places is also tackled in KS3 where students investigate how Bishops Cleeve is evolving before applying this to larger scales/contexts in KS4/5.