Geography

Mission Statement

Geography stimulates in our pupils an interest in and a sense of wonder about places and people at all levels, from local to global scales. Pupils studying Geography at Gravesend Grammar School build their substantive knowledge and disciplinary understanding of the subject. Learning opportunities are designed to develop their knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments. As our pupils move through our sequenced curriculum their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments will become more complex.

In order for us to achieve this, a collective effort in teaching and learning the key concepts is crucial and the key concepts of space, investigation, processes and synopticity underpin our curriculum. Each unit of work in each key stage has been carefully selected to introduce these concepts to pupils and sequenced to give them the opportunity to develop and build their knowledge.We don’t just keep geography in the classroom: we actively bring it to life through exciting out-of-classroom learning and fieldwork.

Our approach to teaching and learning is constantly evolving and adapting to evidence-based research from the leading educationalists in the UK and beyond, whilst staying true to the discipline. The Geography Department aims to offer a curriculum that supports our learners to be confident, enquiring, independent and interested in the subject. The Curriculum offer is designed to facilitate sustained opportunities for the pupils to practice constructing convincing arguments, showcasing the ability to draw well-evidenced conclusions to use and evaluate a wide range of geographical skills. We empower our students to think critically, debate fiercely, and construct powerful, evidence-based arguments about the future of our world.

Student Voice

Key Stage 3

‘The Geography Department has been really helpful, the teachers always break topics down into simple blocks, which we can then go home and revise. The teachers are also very friendly, they always help when we need it with our homework.’ (Year 8)

Key Stage 4

‘Geography at GGS is exciting and challenging as well. I have enjoyed learning high level techniques in Geography, such as how to work out correlations using the Spearmans’ Rank method. I feel that Geography will help to push my boundaries in the future.’ (Year 11)

‘It helps me understand the world from new perspectives’ (Year 10)

‘It's going to help me make sustainable decisions in the future and change the world for the better’ (Year 10)

‘Geography has provided me with a great opportunity to learn more about both physical and human geography. This has allowed me to understand some aspects of the world in a new light.’ (Year 11)

Key Stage 5

‘The learning is interactive, for example we do group work and present our findings to the class, watch videos, have class discussions and complete independent work. The type of work we do and how we do it varies.’ (Year 13)