Geography

The geography curriculum at Ark Soane offers a uniquely powerful lens through which to see the world, helping students to see connections between time, places and scales. Students are pushed beyond the confines of their everyday experience to encounter new and varied places and landscapes. It aims to bring a sense of awe and wonder of the world, increases care and compassion for the planet and its inhabitants, and raises understanding of, and tolerance for, different ways of living. Geography also teaches students about their own local environment, compelling them to reconsider what they thought they knew in a wider context. The study of geography is also a matter of citizenship as it helps young people to encounter and engage with their world, find their place within it, and offers them a stronger voice to discuss the issues that matter.

The Key Stage 3 geography curriculum at Ark Soane is organised by overarching questions each year that speak to each of these overarching concepts, which build in complexity through the key stage. The curriculum narrative systematically builds the knowledge that students will need to answer these challenging conceptual questions. The three paragraphs below give a summary of the journey through the curriculum for each year group:

• In Year 7 students consider the question of ‘What are the key physical and human processes on our planet?’ By the end of Year 7, students will be able to explain sequentially a range of Earth’s key processes, using specialist vocabulary, referring to place specific examples, and showing how these processes change the surface of the planet over time.

• In Year 8 students consider the question of ‘Does humanity live sustainably with the environment?’ By the end of Year 8, students will be able to explain how people rely on the natural environment, and how human activity impacts the natural world, sometimes altering physical processes and often threatening the planet.

• In Year 9 students consider the question of ‘How globally connected is the world?’ By the end Year 9, students will be able to identify the intricate ways in which the world is globally connected, drawing on a range of physical and human geography knowledge to explain what is happening on our planet, at a range of scales.

All Year 7 subjects Next Year 7 Subject - Religious Education

All Year 8 subjects Next Year 8 Subject - Religious Education

All Year 9 subjects Next Year 9 Subject - Religious Education

All Year 10 subjects Next Year 10 Subject - Religious Education

All Year 11 subjects Next Year 11 Subject - Religious Education