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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’.