Geography Department News Spring 2022

Hello Geographers! Another eventful term is coming to a close and as always, the standard of work and enthusiasm seen by the Geography staff have really impressed us.  

Year 11 – the home straight!

Just this week, Year 11 classes have completed the GCSE course content, meaning we can now look ahead to an effective and focused period of exam preparation. As we checked through the notes produced over the two-year course, I was struck by the quality of the work and feel confident that the Year 11 students have the foundations on which to build great success in Geography. The Department will provide a suggested study programme for the Easter break and beyond.  There are also a wealth of materials and past papers available on the SharePoint for each Year 11 class.

On the 3rd and 4th March, we had our Year 11 fieldtrip to survey the River Calder to the north east of Garstang.  This gave pupils an insight into the work of hydrologists. We surveyed the depth, width, velocity and bedload of the river and calculated discharge from our data. Aside from a few wet socks, we came through the trip unscathed, although Mr Ward had a close call when chasing after one of our floats down the river! Thanks to the accompanying staff and to the students, who despite some poor weather were full of enthusiasm and took their responsibilities to collect good quality data very seriously.

Year 9

Year 9 are currently embarking on a real Geography classic – tectonics, volcanoes and earthquakes. This topic is fundamental to understanding our planet and we have committed to teaching it at almost GCSE standard to give students a flavour of the levels expected on the course and to smooth the transition to Year 10.

Year 7

The current topic of study on population and migration is particularly topical. The UN predicts that they will declare the ‘Day of 8 Billion’ at some time in late 2022 or the first quarter of 2023.  This will be a milestone for human population and one we may struggle to cope with. The second part of the topic will look at migration and this will see us focus on those fleeing Ukraine, the largest movement of refugees in Europe since World War II.  We will look at the routes, destinations and struggles that those people face.

Geography Club

Attendance at Geography Club has slowly but steadily climbed through the course of this term. We have delved into the Geography games cupboard and dug deeper into some of our topics of study. After Easter, we will get out and about, utilising the school grounds to explore fieldwork and our local area.  If you would like an early lunch pass for this club please see Mr Bowles. Club is at lunch time on Monday in Room 39.

Easter Holidays – a chance to see some Geography

There have been some excellent programmes on T.V. lately that fit nicely with our topics of study.

In Year 9, there is ‘Fierce Earth’ which is available on BBC iPlayer, which has episodes on earthquakes and volcanoes

For Year 8, there is another BBC series, ‘Earth’s Great Rivers’, again available on BBC iPlayer, which really helps with the understanding of a river as a system, travelling from source to mouth.

In Year 7, there are a couple of good Stacey Dooley documentaries out there about migration (‘Migrant Kids in Crisis’ and ‘Border Wars’).  Parents, please be advised that both come with warnings about upsetting scenes.

Better than all of these is of course getting out into some Geography! Walk up a hill or along a river/canal, visit somewhere new on the train, go and explore a piece of the coast that you have not been to before; Geography is all around us! Have a lovely break.

Earthy has his selfie stick out for this one, but where is he? Answers to g.bowles@penworthamgirls.lancs.sch.uk. Class Chart Medals for all entries and a prize for the first correct answer.

Mr Bowles

Curriculum Leader for Geography

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  • Artsmark Platinum Award - Awards by Arts Council England
  • Lancashire Socio-economic Equality Badge
  • SMART
  • UNICEF
  • School Mental Health Award
  • Ofsted - Outstanding Provider
  • International School Award