KS4 Curriculum Intention
Students study the OCR Geography B (Geography for enquiring minds) curriculum. This GCSE in Geography encourages students to ‘think like geographers’ by developing an enquiry approach to contemporary topics of study. This qualification integrates fieldwork and geographical skills into the content and assessments giving a holistic approach to the subject. Skills learnt in the foundation year are built on, and students are encouraged to evaluate patterns and processes. The Oxford University Press textbook is backed up by an online version on Kerboodle.
KS4 Curriculum Knowledge Covered
The OCR specification is taught in a sequence that suits Scarborough UTC. At the end of year 9 students are introduced to plate tectonics with a focus on the command words ‘describe’ and ‘explain’. As the students move into year 10 they cover topic 4 ‘Sustaining Ecosystems’ where geographical ideas and concepts can be gradually introduced and embedded. The ‘Distinctive Landscapes’ topic is taught during the summer in Year 10 and field work is completed on the North Yorkshire Coast. ‘Urban Futures’ is taught at the start of year 11 with a subsequent field trip to York to investigate retail patterns.
Mutually beneficial curriculum connections
- Geography and Environmental Science are both subjects where cross curriculum links embrace many different subjects.
- Maths is explored in many different formats particularly with reference to the presentation and manipulation of data sets.
- English is vital to the production of comprehensive, well written answers to questions. Marginalisation and urbanization are both covered as part of the English curriculum, and are revisited in geography.
- Human geography topics are relevant to both history and Personal development and students are strongly encouraged to empathise with those in poorer countries, or those that have suffered due to social, economic or environmental disasters.
- Science is explored in many different topics – such as electricity production, biomes throughout the globe.
- Engineering may be explored through the development of new technologies such as hydro-electric production and the rapidly developing area of wind power.
- Computer science is referred to in different contexts, particularly the growing quaternary sector of employment.
- Health and sociology topics underpin students understanding of hot topics such as water stress and health issues in different areas of the globe.
