Teachers

Miss C Deery (HOD)
Mrs J Glackin
Miss E McNeill

Aims of the Department

The aims of the Geography specification are to –

• Encourage pupils to take an interest in their surrounding area and the world around them.
• To make them aware of current worldwide issues.
• Develop a range of lifelong skills such as communication skills and team work.
• To develop an understanding of different cultures and communities.
• To develop an understanding of the link between people and the environment.

Overview of the Department

Geography is an exciting and interesting subject which aims to teach students about the world around them.

At Key Stage 3 a wide range of topics are taught not only to meet the requirements of the revised curriculum but also topics which the students can relate to and find interesting.

Topics include; What is Geography, My Home Region, Energy and Global Warming, Tourism, Plate Tectonics, The Football Business, Fair-trade.

At GCSE we follow the CCEA Specification. This builds on the skills and knowledge the students have developed through Key Stage 3. Topics taught include Human Geography in Year 11; Population, Development and Managing Resources, as well as Physical Geography in Year 12; The Restless Earth, Rivers and Weather. The course also includes a River Study of the Colin River in Belfast for completion of the Controlled Assessment element of the specification. Geography is a very popular choice at GCSE with a regular intake of at least 2 classes in Year 11 each academic year.

Post-16 Geography follows the BTEC Travel and Tourism route where the students learn skills that are directly transferable into the workplace. It is a coursework based subject with some practical elements, and no exam. The students learn all about the Travel and Tourism industry and about the different careers available. It is currently a very popular choice at Year 13 and 14.

Teaching Methods

A variety of teaching methods are used during Geography lessons to ensure each student is provided with the opportunity to fulfil their potential, and thrive within the classroom.

These include

• Independent learning
• Group based work
• Fieldtrips
• Role plays
• Internet Research
• ICT tasks
• Visual learning through DVD’s and animation
• Presentation and communication tasks
• Use of the Interactive Whiteboard

Fieldtrips

Students have the opportunity to participate in fieldtrips in each year group. This helps them develop many valuable skills such as team work, communication and working independently. It also gives a chance process theory learnt in the classroom in a real-life context.

Key Stage 3:

Year 8 – Local Traffic Study

Year 9 – Trip to Paris to study Tourism

Year 10 – River Study of the Ballymartin River in Mallusk and Antrim

Key Stage 4:

GCSE fieldwork is based around their Controlled Assessment tasks and incorporates either a River Study or a study of Belfast Central Business District.

Paris Trip

As part of the year 9 topic ‘Tourism’ the department run an exciting field trip to Paris which first run in February 2013 and has run each year ever since. The trip involves 40 students spending 4 days in Paris. The trip includes an excursion around the famous Parisian sights and of course experiencing the wonder and excitement of the Eurodisney resort and meeting famous faces such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse!