Geography

“Geography is the subject which holds the key to our future“

Michael Palin

Why choose Geography?

Geography is everywhere.  There is civil war in Darfur and a refugee crisis of infinite proportions, HIV continues in its global spread, summer temperatures soared to 22ºC in the Arctic, crime in your local area is on the up, potato prices have risen by 20% after more summer floods destroyed our crops…even Roy has installed an energy efficient kettle in the Corrie Street café to reduce his carbon footprint.

By choosing Geography, you get the whole story behind such daily events.  You are provided with an opportunity to develop an understanding of the patterns, processes and relationships that characterise human and physical environments.  In other words, you get an insight into the world you live in and are part of, it is everything that’s happening in your life.

Geography is seen as a bridge between the arts and sciences, enabling you to keep your options for your future open.  It combines well with a wide range of other subjects.

If you:

  • have an interest in where you live and how places change
  • want to study a subject that is relevant to your own life and experiences
  • are fascinated by the natural environment
  • enjoy being outside doing practical work as well as class based work
  • enjoy travel and finding out about people, places, landscapes and cultures
  • have opinions and ideas on current affairs

….Then Geography is for you!

What is the AS/A2 course like?

There will be two modules at AS and two at A2.  We’ll be covering a whole host of interesting topics, some of which will be an extension of GCSE work and some of which will be completely new.  All will have an emphasis on sustainability and will be contemporary and so relevant to you.  Topics may include rivers and their management, flood prevention, desert environments, hurricane formation, urban redevelopment, global food supply issues, fighting poverty and inequality, the spread of infectious disease, vulcanicity and seismicity, global warming, terrorism and war.

The Coursework question…

Put Buxton and shopping hierarchies behind you – there will be NO coursework.  We will still do fieldwork and some investigations but you will be asked about these in the exam, you will not write up a project for external assessment.

Do we do fieldwork?

Of course we do!  There will be a residential field course and several day trips during the course.  Next year we’ll go up to the Lakes for three days to study Geography in a spectacular location.  We’ll be looking for evidence of glaciation, messing about in rivers, understanding how flooding can be prevented and eating lots of very nice gingerbread! We’re also hoping to run regular foreign field tours in 2009/10 for Upper School Geographers; this year we’re off to Iceland.  The Ice Hotel in Lapland or the tropical rainforest of Costa Rica may well be future destinations for A level students.

What else is on offer by the Geography Department?

Join us for A Level and be part of the Bede’s Geog-Geol Socials, highly intellectual (?) get togethers with Mr Loader and the geologists, often involving food, films and nights out in Manchester.  You also get to be part of the Geographical Association and we’ll take you to Manchester University for conferences and lectures which are relevant to your course.

What can I do with Geography?

Geography provides students with an opportunity not only to develop a detailed subject-specific knowledge but also to develop proficiency in a wide range of transferable skills.  Such skills include collecting, analyzing and interpreting data, communicating your findings, team work, being IT literate, solving problems and decision making.  These valuable skills are applicable to a very wide range of potential career opportunities and make Geographers extremely employable.

So, Geography really can take you places!  Opportunities for geography students are exciting and wide-ranging.  So, with Geography, you could be responsible for redeveloping New Orleans, getting a third runway built at Manchester airport,  leading Live 8 aid projects in Africa, working to reduce the carbon footprint of British industries, or preparing a tsunami evacuation plan for San Francisco.

Remember…Without Geography, you’re nowhere!

For further details please contact: Miss Jayne Tomkinson, Head of Geography.