GCSE Geography is an exciting course based on both human and physical Geography. It allows students to investigate the link between the two themes, and approach and examine the battles between the man-made and natural world. Students who take Geography for GCSE will have the skills and experience to progress onto A Level and beyond which many of our students choose to do.

Year 10

The Living World

This unit focuses on the natural world around us and the reasons why ecosystems are different all around the world. There will be special attention paid to the Amazon Rainforest and the Sonoran Desert in Arizona as students grapple with the issues facing these areas and how they can be developed in a sustainable way.

Urban Issues and Challenges

In this unit there will be a focus on London and Rio as students begin to search for an answer to the question: can a city ever be sustainable? Finally this unit will continue to build students up for their exam and there will be fieldwork undertaken in Saffron Walden which will be used in the final exam.

UK Physical Landscapes

This unit gives us the opportunity to focus on the features in the UK in more depth, whilst developing geographical and mapping skills further. Students will begin to look carefully at the coastal landscape around the UK, understanding why features have been formed in a particular way and how human management can influence this landscape. During this unit, students will undertake their second piece of compulsory fieldwork for the GCSE, which will feed into their final exam. Finally, students will pursue a study of the glacial landscape around the UK, looking at features formed by ice and opportunities created by the landscape left behind.

Changing Economic World

This unit of work encourages students to think about global development. Whilst we will be thinking about the indicators which show development and the differences between the quality of life of people, students will also be given the chance to focus on a case study of one country to look at all these features in more depth. Linking with the studies of the UK, students will focus their attention to the future of the UK economy, tracking past developments and changes to project future trends and global links

Year 11

The Challenge of Natural Hazards

In order to build on their knowledge gained throughout KS3, students are being given the opportunity to study natural hazards for the first time at KS4. Students will begin to look at the array of natural hazards faced by people globally, before looking at examples of recent earthquakes and atmospheric hazards. The important theme running through this unit asks students to explore and categorise the impacts different hazards bring with them, whether they be in the short or long term. Finally, this unit looks the natural and human factors causing climate change and encourages thinking behind ways of managing this global issue on a variety of scales.