• geog01

Geography

Geography is a fantastic subject because it helps you to learn about the world around you. Here are some of the questions that Geographers at Hurstmere School consider:

• Why do volcanoes explode?
• Where do people live and why?
• How does the sea shape our coastline?
• How will global warming affect all our lives?
• What damage do tourists do when they visit places of interest?
 
Facilities
 
We have four specialist Geography rooms, two with ICT facilities included. The library is utilised by all groups for additional learning material and further ICT facilities.
 
Resources
 
The Geography Department is resourced with the Modern Phillips School Atlas. The core lower school textbooks are the ‘Key Geography’ series which link in with the ‘Key Geography GCSE’ series. Additional to these main resources, we have other text book sets which enable for use across all ability ranges. The aim of these sets is to provide more challenging work for the higher ability students either individually or as whole teaching groups, and to also support the lower ability students with more accessible resources.
 
The department is proud of the extensive range of additional resources which have been created by the members of the department. These are often aimed at making lessons engaging and allowing all students to access the aims of each lesson. These often take the form of worksheets or dynamic PowerPoint presentations and videos. We also have an extensive range of DVDs, rocks, minerals and CD-ROMs to aid in the visual learning of the students and to promote the ‘Awe and Wonder’ aspect of Geography.
 
Fieldwork
 
Field work is very important to develop understanding within Geography. The department aims to run a field trip for each year group either as a whole year group trip or as small groups. Some of the trips undertaken in previous years include:
 
  • Visit to Emirates Stadium and surrounding area
  • Trip to Docklands Museum and Museum of London
  • Visit to Kew Garden
  • Visit to Twickenham Rugby ground   
Developing the talents of high ability students in Geography
 
Within Geography we like to develop the understanding of those students who have a keen interest in the subject. This is achieved through encouragement to join the ‘Sustainability Club’, organised by a teacher from the department. It is also encouraged by various prizes which are awarded to the top achieving students of each year group, including GCSE students. These generally take the form of cross-curricular magazine subscriptions such as ‘The National Geographic Kids’ for Years 7 to 8 and ‘The National Geographic’ for Years 9 to 10. Year 11 students are awarded additional revision assistance through flash cards and revision workbooks. These act as ways of motivating students by developing their interest within the subject, whilst also supporting and developing their skills in English and Science.