Geography

Course summary

Geography fascinates and inspires. It is everywhere, it is the beauty of the earth, the terrible power of earth-shaping forces, viewed on the news that nourishes our curiosity and draws upon our empathy. Geography takes us out of ourselves. The subject attracts an enthusiastic and diverse group of students each year, who respond to the contemporary, real life nature of the subject and the academic issues that arise from them. The topics are interesting, varied and directly relevant to the real world. Indeed, many of the major issues facing the world today, particularly young people in the coming decades, are explicitly covered within the Geography specification. The causes, problems and solutions of both rapid population growth and urbanisation, along with the impacts of natural hazards such as tsunamis, are just two of the topics covered. Geography at this level includes a high level of problem-solving and evaluation and engages the theoretical, the real and the practical. There are a number of day trips in Year 12 to aid students’ understanding of the topics they are studying. You will carry out fieldwork investigations relating to the topics we study, gaining first-hand experience of fieldwork techniques. In addition, extra-curricular trips to locations such as Italy and Iceland form part of the course.