Year 7

During Year 7 there are three main topics studied.

The first topic is “Settlement” and includes a day field trip to Middleton-in-Teesdale where the site, location and development of the settlement are investigated. This data collected during this trip is used to produce a fieldwork report. The experience of being out of school has two main objectives: to show the students from an early stage that Geography studies the real world and is not just a classroom subject and to help the girls bond as a year group.

During the second term we study the “Geography of Football”. The topic lends itself to developing key geographical skills and involves drawing scatter graphs, interpreting maps, considering different opinions, giving directions and considering the impacts of globalisation. In a Euro or World Cup year it also allows us to produce studies of individual countries.

Map skills are revised and developed during the final term. Each pupil receives a map of the local area which, in the past few years, has been provided free of charge by the Ordnance Survey. This map is used to familiarise pupils with the use of real maps and the girls enjoy using and becoming familiar with the map of their local area.

Year 8

The topic in the first term is “Rivers” and their impact on the landscape. This includes a morning of fieldwork investigating the changes along a small (and shallow!) local stream. The students are introduced to the concept of hypothesis testing and data is collected in order to provide information to test a series of hypotheses suggested by the pupils. The fieldwork investigation involves the drawing of cross-sections, calculations of discharge, field sketching and evaluating techniques.

Kenya is the developing country studied during the second term and is covered in considerable detail including; physical geography (relief, soils, climate, rift valley formation), movement of population and shanty towns, issues involving population growth, the development of the tourist industry and the impact on the local economy and tribal groups. All of these topics are helpful in future studies, particularly at GCSE level.

In the Spring Term the topic is “Weather and Climate”. Each student is part of a small group that is responsible for collecting weather data from the school climate station. This data is used to investigate the relationships between various weather characteristics and is entered on the “Metlink” website, enabling comparison between our weather and other climates around the world.

The final topic studied is the different “Sectors of Employment”, particularly focusing on issues in the Primary sector (agriculture), including changing landscapes, hedgerow removal and other environmental impacts. Secondary industry is studied as a system and local examples are used to investigate changing location factors in industries through time.

Year 9

“Rocks and their impact on the Landscape” is the first topic covered in Year 9 and this includes a fieldtrip to Malham to investigate the impact of limestone on the landscape. The “Geography of Fashion” has proved to be a popular topic and includes studies of fashion marketing, clothing manufacture and the location decisions made by transnational corporations.

Development issues are studied after Christmas and students enjoy researching economic data from the Internet. The topic culminates in the “Chocolate Game” which is used to illustrate the issues of global trade and multinational companies. The Fair Trade movement is considered as a solution to trading inequalities. Of course, the topic ends with some chocolate tasting!

“Tectonics” is a popular topic studied at the end of Year 9 and the investigation into the causes of earthquakes and volcanoes includes a popular role-play exercise based on the Kobe earthquake.

At the end of Year 9 a large proportion of the girls opt to continue their geographical studies to GCSE level.