Geography

Geography is a subject which encourages its students to think about the world around them: why things are as they are, whether they have always been like this, and why they occur in some places and not in others. It teaches us to think about our place in the world and, at a time of concern about environmental issues, population growth and global warming, how what we do affects the world around us, now and for future generations. This is a subject for inquiring minds!

At St. Edmund's, all of our pupils study Geography in the Lower Fifth, with many choosing to pursue it to GCSE and beyond. Our GCSE study covers population and settlement, economic activity (including agriculture and industry), physical geography - our place in the natural world and how we use it - and the development and interdependence of countries.

For those continuing with Geography to the A Level years, we cover physical environments and human environments for our AS Level modules; physical environments looks at areas such as plate tectonics, rivers and coasts, whilst human environments continues our study of populations and settlement. At the A2 Level we cover: physical systems, such as glaciations and biogeography; and human systems such as industrial location, economic development and the relationship between rural and urban environments.

As well as enjoying excellent teaching facilities at school, our pupils take part in field studies and residential courses as part of their studies. Our Fifth Formers undertake a data collection exercise in the centre of Canterbury, as part of the coursework requirement for their GCSE, and in the Sixth Form there are annual residential weeks to either Dorset, where we study the beaches and cliffs of this renowned coastline, or to Mid Wales, where our areas of interest are dune formation, a river study, the glacial landforms of Cadair Idris, local market towns, and population changes.

Sixth Form geographers also attend regular meetings of the Geography Society, with talks and presentations from fellow pupils. These have recently included an account of a summer spent doing voluntary work in Zambia, and a case study on the environmental impact of the 1996 Sea Empress disaster.

Field trip to Mid Wales