Introduction

The Department is part of the Humanities Faculty. Within the Faculty the Department is well resourced and the atmosphere is always cheerful.

Practical work forms an important element throughout the school and it involves a range of skills which are developed as a student moves towards GCSE. In Year 10 students complete one Controlled Assessment which counts towards 25% of the overall exam. In the Sixth form the students produce short reports in Year 12 as part of their preparation for the second AS module and a longer research activity towards the end of Year 13 in preparation for the final module in A2.

Fieldwork is an essential part of our Geography curriculum and all years have the chance to travel. In Year 7 we have visited Marston Vale and the Natural History Museum in London, Year 8 students have visited the Peak District and in Year 9 students have had the chance to attend a weekend residential trip to study the Norfolk coastline. In Year 10 students complete local fieldwork in Bedfordshire to inform their Controlled Assessment and are invited to attend a residential trip, recent destinations have been to the Peak District, South Wales and North Yorkshire. Lower Sixth begins with a trip to Sherrigham in the third week in September followed by a day trip to Docklands, later in the year. These trips provide the primary evidence necessary to write the short AS report. Finally for those who complete the Advanced Level course there is the chance to visit the French Alps at the beginning of the Upper Sixth year.