Devonport High School for Girls

Name of Head of Department

Ms A Trower, BSc (Hons), PGCE

Statement of Intent

At DHSG, our Geography Curriculum is designed to:

 celebrate the diversity of our world and cultivate curiosity about its places and people; 
critically analyse physical processes and human concepts ;
embrace geographical thinking and independent enquiry, in our studies and in our own lives; 
nurture global citizens with the knowledge and skills to effect sustainable environmental change.

Curriculum Programmes of Study

Year	Cycle	Content
Year 7	Cycle 1	Our Plymouth Settlement OS map skills Demographics Weather Rock cycle Rivers
	Cycle 2	Their Plymouth Atlas skills Population density and distribution Climate Coasts Earthquakes
	Cycle 3	Past Plymouth Biomes Tropical Rainforest Volcanoes Hurricanes
Year 8	Cycle 1	Reimaging Russia Location, locale and sense of place Resources Development Population policy Geopolitics
	Cycle 2	Global Garments Globalisation Transnational Corporations Fair trade fashion Ethical consumers
	Cycle 3	Climate challenges Climate change Hindu Kush regional study focusing on glacial retreat Sahel regional study focusing on desertification Mitigation and adaptation
Year 9	Cycle 1	Paper 1: Rivers
	Cycle 2	Paper 2: Changing Economic World
	Cycle 3	Paper 2: Changing Economic World Paper 1: Coasts
Year 10	Cycle 1	Paper 1: Natural Hazards
	Cycle 2	Paper 1: Natural Hazards Paper 2: Urban Issues and Challenges
	Cycle 3	Paper 2: Urban Issues and Challenges Paper 3: Human Fieldwork
Year 11	Cycle 1	Paper 3: Physical Fieldwork Paper 1: Living World
	Cycle 2	Paper 1: Living World Paper 2 Resources Management
	Cycle 3	Paper 3: Pre-release and revision Revision and Examinations

Lower Years Assessment Framework

To view the Lower Years Assessment Framework for Geography, please click here

Middle Years Exam and Specification Information

Full details of the specification and assessment criteria can be found on the AQA website GCSE Geography Specification

Extra-curricular activities

Fieldwork is a fundamental part of the study of Geography and students are provided with a range of fieldwork opportunities. Below are some of the trips that run regularly in the department.

Year 7 – National Marine Aquarium – looking at threats to ocean ecosystems.
Year 7 – Eden Project – studying plant adaptations in the tropical rainforest.
Year 8 – Eden Project – exploring the impacts of climate change and ways in which we can positively respond.
Year 10 – Exeter city centre - investigating changing urban environments.
Year 11 – Dawlish Warren – investigating coastal processes and landforms.
Year 12 - Start Bay - investigating coastal processes and landforms in preparation for students’ own independent investigation.
Year 12 – Devonport docks and Plymouth waterfront – investigating our local sense of place, urban deprivation and regeneration.

Residential trips

Years 9-13- London-visiting some of our key case studies, including the Olympic Park and Brick Lane.
Years 10- 13 - Iceland - a trip of awe and wonder to the land of ‘fire and ice’.

Geography