Geography

At Sheffield Girls’ we bring Geography to life, helping students understand their place in our changing world while exploring the social and environmental pressures shaping the future. We encourage our Geography pupils to develop their own opinions on important global issues, while learning about the responsibility we all share in creating a more sustainable, interconnected world. It’s the perfect subject for curious minds eager to make a difference!

Through our Geography curriculum we support our students to develop the analytical skills of the sciences and the descriptive and interpretive skills of the humanities.

In Key Stage 3 a wide variety of topics are covered, from classic map skills and rivers in Year 7, to the topical and highly relevant global issues of development and hazards, including climate change, in Year 9. We use a wide variety of study and teaching techniques such as roleplay, discussions, group presentations and fieldwork. During Key Stage 3, fieldwork takes place locally and regionally such as in the Peak District or in Scarborough, depending on the topic we’re studying.

GCSE Geography

At GCSE, we cover the following topics:

• Plate tectonics and natural hazards
• Weather
• Glaciation
• Ecosystems, tropical rainforests and hot deserts
• Development
• Tourism
• Population
• Urban change and regeneration
• Climate change
• Resource management
• Geographical applications and skills

Our GCSE course is varied and dynamic, helping to prepare students for further study at A Level, but also simply helping each student to have a greater understanding of the world and their impact upon it.

Fieldwork

Fieldwork is an essential component of our Geography course and is an ideal setting in which to develop teamwork and leadership skills, as well as seeing the things learnt in the classroom at work in the real world.

The Geography Department recognises the value of fieldwork and we have taken all the available time allotted to make use of this with a variety of topics and locations to give the pupils a taste of their environment. We don’t just look at the world outside; we go and explore it to fully appreciate its complexities and interrelationships.

At GCSE, students participate in fieldwork during residential trips around North Yorkshire and Snowdonia.

“Geography is one of those richly comprehensive subjects whose relevance is all around us. Where we come from, what we do, what we eat, how we move about and how we shape our future are all directly the province of the Geographer. More than ever we need the geographer’s skills and foresight to help us to learn about our planet – how we use it and we abuse it.”

Michael Palin, explorer and geographer