Geography
What does Geography at Durham School do?
- It builds knowledge of the world we live in and an understanding of geographical processes and current events from local to global.
- It provides opportunities for the first hand investigation of places through fieldwork.
- It develops skills for the future, including literacy, numeracy, graphicacy, spatial awareness, map interpretation, ICT proficiency, problem solving, team work, thinking skills and enquiry.
Key Stage 3
In Years 7 to 9 all pupils study geography. We start by looking at the United Kingdom in Year 7, Europe in Year 8 and the World in Year 9. A variety of topics is studied at these three scales, from the site of Durham City, to deforestation of the Amazon basin. Year 7 have a day's fieldwork in Warkworth studying the site of the castle, the changing function of the village, and vegetation succession on the sand dunes.
GCSE
In Years 10 and 11 Geography can be studied as a GCSE option, and about half the pupils choose to do so. We follow AQA Specification A (3031) www.aqa.org.uk , which gives us a range of interesting topics - coasts, glaciation, plate tectonics, settlement, industry and development. Early in Year 10 a day's fieldwork is undertaken on the coast at Seaham. In Year 11 all pupils carry out their own fieldwork project in Durham City for their coursework, which carries 25% of the total GCSE marks. A recent highlight at GCSE was our 5-day visit to Iceland to see at first hand a glacier, geysers and a volcanic landscape still in the making.
Scheme of work
Year 10 All pupils are issued with a copy of "The New Wider World" by David Waugh and a Letts revision guide.
Christmas Term: Coastal Landscapes and Processes (waves, erosion, transport, deposition, coastal landforms, coastal management issues); Tectonic Activity (plate tectonics, fold mountains, earthquakes and volcanoes).
Easter Term: Settlement (site, hierarchy, function, structure, growth, problems and solutions).
Summer Term: Industry (location and change in MEDCs and LEDCs).
Year 11
Christmas Term: Coursework projects (based on data collected by the pupils in Durham); Glacial Landscapes and Processes (processes of erosion and deposition, and landforms they produce).
Easter Term: Development (contrasts between MEDCs and LEDCs; trade and aid).
Summer Term: Revision and preparation for the exams in May.
A level
At A level we do OCR Specification A (3832) www.ocr.org.uk In the Lower Sixth all students make use of a GIS (Geographic Information System) on the computer in their AS coursework. The Upper Sixth wiil have a residential field study near Barcelona in October 2008. The Upper Sixth also visit Newcastle-Gateshead to study redevelopment along the quayside.
Scheme of work
Lower Sixth A number of textbooks and revison guides are issued to the pupils.
Christmas Term: Module 2680: Hydrological Systems; Ecosystems; Atmospheric Systems; Lithosphere.
Easter Term: Module 2680 exam in January. Module 2681: Population; Rural and Urban Settlement. Module 2682: Geographical Investigation.
Summer Term: Finish off Modules 2681 and 2682, and prepare for the two module exams in May. In June, after the AS exams, fieldwork planning and data collection for the A2 coursework.
Summer holiday: students start writing up their coursework (Module 2685), based on the data collected in June.
Upper Sixth
Christmas Term: Finish writing up the coursework (2685). Module 2683: Manufacturing Industry; Coastal Environments.
Easter Term: Module 2683 exam in January. Module 2684: Managing Urban Environments; Hazardous Environments.
Summer Term: Finish off Module 2684 for the exam in June.
ICT in Geography
The Geography Department is at the forefront in using ICT within the school. It has its own intranet from which pupils can access articles, photographs and interactive exercises that are relevant to their courses. Computers, digital projectors and interactive whiteboards are used in classroom teaching. Pupils from Year 7 upwards use a GPS (Global Positioning System) when collecting fieldwork data.
Geography Field Studies
We regard fieldwork and visits to be an important part of the geography curriculum and we undertake a number of field studies each year. A GPS (Global Positioning System) is used, where appropriate, to locate exactly each fieldwork site so that data can later be plotted onto a map using a GIS (Geographic Information System). This enables data to be analysed much more quickly and effectively than in the past.
Year 7
Full day in Warkworth, Northumberland
We study the sites of the castle and the village, which are within a meander on the River Coquet. It is just like a small-scale Durham City, with the castle built at the narrowest point on the neck of the meander, protecting the village which was sited within the meander for defensive reasons. We also look at how the village has changed its function over the past few centuries. It is now quite an important tourist centre. After lunch on the beach, we carry out a survey across the dune system looking at the effect of vegetation succession on the dunes.
Year 8
Half day visit to Broom House Farm, near Witton Gilbert. Broom House Farm is a mixed organic farm overlooking the Browney Valley. Pupils have the opportunity to see at first hand some of the things they have studied in the classroom.
Year 10
Full day in Seaham, County Durham
We spend the morning studying the coastal landforms and the processes that have created them. This involves a range of skills: observing, measuring, recording and sketching. In the afternoon we look at coastal management issues in Seaham.
Year 11
Half day in Durham City
The 30 or so GCSE geographers work in pairs collecting data on a variety of topics. The data are entered onto a spreadsheet for pupils to access. They choose an individual fieldwork title for their coursework and select relevant data from the spreadsheet. Pupils carry out additional fieldwork on their own to supplement the group-collected data.
GCSE revision conference in Newcastle
This is an annual conference organised by the publishers Philip Allan. Experienced examiners offer advice on exam technique and look at a couple of useful case studies. There is a quiz with exciting prizes to be won!
Years 10, 11 and 12
Six days in Iceland
Every other year we offer a voluntary field study in Iceland. Around 30 pupils went on the last one (June 2007) and enjoyed some absolutely spectacular sights and experiences: colourful steaming hot springs, an erupting geyser, walking on to the melting snout of a glacier, a flight in a 6-seater aircraft across to Heimaey which last erupted in 1973, huge black outwash plains, a spotlessly clean geothermal power station and a swim in the famous Blue Lagoon.
Year 12
Durham City
The Lower Sixth work in small groups collecting data for their AS coursework projects in which they examine how shopping has changed in Durham over the last thirty years.
Year 13
A residential field study near Barcelona is planned for 24th - 28th October 2008.
Half day in Newcastle and Gateshead
This is to look at the early growth of Newcastle and recent urban redevelopment along the quayside, as part of the course on urban management.
Humanities
next event
Monitors' meeting
Wednesday, 07 January 2009
More forthcoming events.
recent news
Sixth Form Musician gains Oxbridge distinction
David Quinn awarded Organ Scholarship at Oxford
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Testimonials
"My son’s trips away with the CCF have helped to teach him independence, discipline and confidence in being able to look after himself and others. The House competitions have involved my son in singing and helping out with drama productions, something he might never have done if he had not attended this school. We will all be very sad when the time comes for him to leave.
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Jane Rich (son, Year 12)