Geography

Why is geography important?

The study of geography stimulates an interest in and a sense of wonder about places. It helps children make sense of a complex and dynamically changing world. It explains where places are, how places and landscapes are formed, how people and their environment interact, and how a diverse range of economies, societies and environments are interconnected. It builds on pupils' own experiences to investigate places at all scales, from the personal to the global. It encourages questioning, investigation and critical thinking about issues affecting the world and people's lives, now and in the future. Geography inspires pupils to become global citizens by exploring their own place in the world and their responsibilities to other people, to the environment and to the sustainability of the planet.

Careers that the study of history supports include:

• Geography teacher
• Cartographer
• Environmental Lawyer
• Catastrophe Modeller or Emergency Planner
• Journalist
• Travel Writer
• Climate Change Analyst
• Climatologist
• Meteorologist
• Surveyor
• Town Planner
• Writer
• Pollution Analyst
• Librarian

At The Wings’ CE Trust, we aim to:

• Give pupils the opportunity to complete regular fieldwork visits to provide children with real life skills and purpose to their learning
• Inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives
• Equip pupils with knowledge about diverse places, people, resources and natural and human environments, together with a deep understanding of the Earth’s key physical and human processes.
• Develop a growing knowledge about the world to deepen their understanding of the interaction between physical and human processes, and of the formation and use of landscapes and environments.
• Ensure pupils are competent in the geographical skills needed to:

• collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes
• interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes and aerial photographs
• communicate geographical information in a variety of ways

The national curriculum for geography aims to ensure that all pupils:

• develop contextual knowledge of the location of globally significant places – both terrestrial and marine – including their defining physical and human characteristics and how these provide a geographical context for understanding the actions of processes
• understand the processes that give rise to key physical and human geographical features of the world, how these are interdependent and how they bring about spatial variation and change over time
• are competent in the geographical skills needed to:
  • collect, analyse and communicate with a range of data gathered through experiences of fieldwork that deepen their understanding of geographical processes
  • interpret a range of sources of geographical information, including maps, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
  • communicate geographical information in a variety of ways, including through maps, numerical and quantitative skills and writing at length.