Key Stage 3

For information on the Key Stage Curriculum please see the document below

Progression statement – by the end of key stage 3

By the end of key stage 3, pupils are expected to know, apply and understand the matters, skills and processes specified in the programme of study.

Pupils should consolidate and extend their knowledge of the world’s major countries and their physical and human features. They should understand how geographical processes interact to create distinctive human and physical landscapes that change over time. In doing so, they should become aware of increasingly complex geographical systems in the world around them. They should develop greater competence in using geographical knowledge, approaches and concepts [such as models and theories] and geographical skills in analysing and interpreting different data sources. In this way pupils will continue to enrich their locational knowledge and spatial and environmental understanding.

Pupils should be taught to:

• extend their locational knowledge and deepen their spatial awareness of the world’s countries using maps of the world to focus on Africa, Russia, Asia (including China and India), and the Middle East, focusing on their environmental regions, including polar and hot deserts, key physical and human characteristics, countries and major cities Place Knowledge
• understand geographical similarities, differences and links between places through the study of human and physical geography of a region within Africa, and of a region within Asia Human and physical geography
• understand, through the use of detailed place-based exemplars at a variety of scales, the key processes in:
• physical geography relating to: geological timescales and plate tectonics; rocks, weathering and soils; weather and climate, including the change in climate from the Ice Age to the present; and glaciation, hydrology and coasts
• human geography relating to: population and urbanisation; international development; economic activity in the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary sectors; and the use of natural resources
• understand how human and physical processes interact to influence, and change landscapes, environments and the climate; and how human activity relies on effective functioning of natural systems Geography – key stage 3 3 Geographical skills and fieldwork
• build on their knowledge of globes, maps and atlases and apply and develop this knowledge routinely in the classroom and in the field
• interpret Ordnance Survey maps in the classroom and the field, including using grid references and scale, topographical and other thematic mapping, and aerial and satellite photographs
• use Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to view, analyse and interpret places and data
• use fieldwork in contrasting locations to collect, analyse and draw conclusions from geographical data, using multiple sources of increasingly complex information.

GCSE Geography AQA (8035) 1-9 GCSE

At GCSE 1-9 students follow the AQA exam board, this exciting course is based on a balanced framework of physical and human geography. It allows students to investigate the link between the two themes, and approach and examine the battles between man-made and natural worlds.

Subject content

Living with the physical environment

• 3.1.1 Section A: The challenge of natural hazards
• 3.1.2 Section B: The living world
• 3.1.3 Section C: Physical landscapes in the UK

Challenges in the human environment

• 3.2.1 Section A: Urban issues and challenges
• 3.2.2 Section B: The changing economic world
• 3.2.3 Section C: The challenge of resource management

Geographical applications

• 3.3.1 Section A: Issue evaluation
• 3.3.2 Section B: Fieldwork

Geographical skills

• 3.4 Geographical skills

More information about the AQA syllabus and content can be found at:  http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/geography/gcse/geography-8035

Progression statement – by the end of key stage 4

• broadening and deepening understanding of locational contexts, including greater awareness of the importance of scale and the concept of global
• a greater emphasis given to process studies that lead to an understanding of change
• a greater stress on the multivariate nature of ‘human-physical’ relationships and interactions
• a stronger focus on forming generalisations and/or abstractions, including some awareness of theoretical perspectives and of the subject’s conceptual frameworks
• an increased involvement of students in planning and undertaking independent enquiry in which skills and knowledge are applied to investigate geographical questions
• enhancing competence in a range of intellectual and communication skills, including the formulation of arguments, that include elements of synthesis and evaluation of material

A-Level Geography AQA (7037)

The new specification will excite students’ minds, challenge perceptions and stimulate their investigative and analytical skills.

Whilst new units have been added to reflect the world today, the specification has retained much of the topics students enjoy, including hazards and population.

Students will undertake a geography fieldwork investigation, which helps students expand their geographical skills.

The new A Level curriculum has been implemented since September 2016 and further details can be found at: http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/geography/as-and-a-level/geography-7037

Subject content

Physical geography

• Water and carbon cycles
• Hot desert systems and landscapes
• Coastal systems and landscapes
• Glacial systems and landscapes
• Hazards
• Ecosystems under stress

Human geography

• Global systems and global governance
• Changing places
• Contemporary urban environments
• Population and the environment
• Resource security

Geography fieldwork investigation

• Fieldwork requirements
• Investigation requirements

Geographical skills

• Geographical skills checklist

Progression statement – by the end of key stage 5

• build on knowledge of contexts, locations, places and environments, by extending the scope and scale of study, the variety of physical, social, economic, cultural and political contexts encountered, the depth of conceptual understanding required, and the range of spatial and temporal scales included
• ensure emphasis on deep understanding of both physical and human processes, and on applying this understanding to interrogate people environment interactions and people-place connections at all scales from local to global
• require study that builds on and reinforces the conceptual understanding underpinning GCSE, and extends demand to include a wider range of more complex and specialised concepts that relate to the core and non-core content
• ensure that specifications demand engagement with models, theories and generalisations, and require a mature understanding of the nature and limitations of objectivity and the significance of human values and attitudes 1 ‘Circumstances’ in this case refers to the context of people’s lives, the socio-economic and political milieu in which they find themselves.
• promote understanding of the rationale for, and applications of, skills and approaches used, together with a considerable degree of independence in selecting and using a wide range of geographical methods, techniques and skills, involving both qualitative and quantitative methods
• ensure that fieldwork plays a key role in encouraging A level students to apply and evaluate theory in the real world, and that A level fieldwork demands a high degree of responsibility from students for selecting research questions, applying relevant techniques and skills, and identifying appropriate ways of analysing and communicating findings

Revision Links

Geography Education Online

GCSE Bitesize