The Importance of Geography in the Curriculum
“The study of geography is about more than just memorizing places on a map. It’s about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents. And in the end, it’s about using all that knowledge to help bridge divides and bring people together.” – Barack Obama
Geography is part of our everyday life from extreme weather to endangered ecosystems to local geography. Knowing, understanding and applying a range of geographical skills will allow our students to thrive in a globalised world. Geography is a multidisciplinary subject and here at Goldington Academy we demonstrate this with cross-curriculum links across the key stages. Geography equips our students with knowledge and skills that are vital in a changing world. Michael Palin has stated that geography students hold the key to the world’s problems and it is a subject that broadens the mind (Palin, 2018, 2011).
Head of Geography
Mrs Morgan, BSc( Hons) in Geography , PGCE Geography, MEd Cantab (morgand@goldington.beds.sch.uk)
Fieldwork
Year 7
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Infiltration investigation using school grounds
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A sense of place - school grounds
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River Walk - River Great Ouse, Bedford
Year 8
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A sense of place - school grounds
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Marston Vale
Year 9
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Soil investigation - school field
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Foster Hill Cemetery collaborative trip with science, art, and history departments
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Guest speaker/workshop on climate change - TBC
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Sense of Place - Bedford Walk
GCSE
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Bedford Town Centre
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Southwold
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Guest speaker(s) - TBC
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Geography club for all year groups
'Coming soon....Sorrento 2027! An exciting opportunity for students to spend 5 days in Sorrento, Italy and the surrounding areas experiencing the culture, cuisine, physical geography and history of the area.' More details to follow!
Key Stage 3
At key stage 3 the Geography curriculum was designed so that it included some of the targeted knowledge expected at GCSE and A Level. The topics are connected so that learning is progressive, synoptic and sequenced as the topics build on geographical skills and challenge. The topics are interesting and contemporary and they use topical relevant content to spark a love of learning geography and challenge misconceptions.
Knowledge is what we want the students to have gained as they progress through each key stage. Our spiral approach to the curriculum at Key stage 3 will deliver foundation content through a connected curriculum with a variety of transferable skill-based activities using disciplinary and substantive knowledge. Reoccurring concepts have been established to enable our students to make sense of the world they live in and equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in a globalised, complex and changing world and build a solid understanding of geography. All of which act as stepping-stones for GCSE and life beyond school.
GCSE
We follow the AQA GCSE Geography course. The geography is exciting, challenging and relevant which balances the study of physical and human themes and the investigation of the interrelationships between them. The intention is to dovetail geographical skills throughout the course as suggested by the specification to help the students contextualise and understand the purpose and value of such skills. Synopticity will also be fostered as the course develops to allow students to connect the geography they are studying and draw on their understanding of how to do this coming from a spiral curriculum at KS3. They will continue to think more critically about the geography they are studying, preparing them for life after GCSEs and life beyond school. We want our students to strive to be their best and recognise that success is not just exam based and that learning has no limits. We want to build resilience, motivation and questioning within the department and begin to impart greater responsibility to our students for their learning. More importantly we want our students to continue to enjoy their lessons.
Urban Topics
Exam Board: AQA Units
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Unit 1: Living with the physical environment
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Written examination - 1hr 30 min- 35%
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The challenge of natural hazards
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The living world
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Physical landscapes of the UK
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Unit 2: Challenges in the human environment
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Written examination - 1hr 30min- 35%
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Urban issues and challenges
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The changing economic world
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The challenge of resource management
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Unit 3: Geographical applications
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Written examination - 1hr 30 min- Pre-release resource booklet- 30%
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Issue evaluation
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Compulsory Fieldwork in physical and human environments
Geographical skills are taught throughout each unit
Supporting Trips and Activities
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Physical Environment - Investigating coastal processes
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Human Environment - Investigating geographical processes in a human environment
What will my child gain from geography?
Geography is a unique subject because it allows for the study of physical and human environments. It augments our students understanding of our past and present impacts on our planet and forecast the future impacts that we may have.
It can also help our students to develop the following skills:
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Read and use maps, aerial photos and diagrams in a range of formats to strengthen navigation skills
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Collect, present, analyse and evaluate a range of data
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Develop critical thinking and decision making skills
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Gain a knowledge and understanding of the world and global issues such as sustainability and climate change
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Appreciation of different cultures both at home and abroad
Where will geography take my child?
Geography compliments all subjects and contributes to employability through the further development of literacy, numeracy, ICT, slef-motivation and teams work skills. It is good foundation for pursing A levels and some jobs for which GCSE geography could be a pathway they include:
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Surveying
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Volcanologist
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Town Planner
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GIS (Geographical Information Systems)
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Oceanographer
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Architect
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Marine Biologist
Support with home learning
SENECA LEARNING
We use Seneca Learning to recall, review, retrieve and test your knowledge, as it is a very useful tool to aid revision and application knowledge.
Eco School/Geography Club
Eco-committee students followed up on the Eco-school award success in 2024 by achieving the Eco-schools award with distinction once again in July 2025! Many congratulations to the students who worked so hard over the year to help make a difference in and around the school. Please look out for our new plaque at the front of school and join us in Rm 19 every Tuesday at 1pm for more information!