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Introduction
Throughout their time at Tabor, students will study a range of topics at a local, national, regional and global scale to broaden their knowledge and understanding of different places and issues in the world. Geography equips students with several transferable skills that they can use in other subjects and later in life. Students will consolidate and extend their knowledge of the world’s major countries and their physical and human features. They will understand how geographical processes interact to create distinctive human and physical landscapes that change over time. In doing so, they will become aware of increasingly complex geographical systems in the world around them. They will develop greater competence in using geographical knowledge, approaches and concepts, such as models and theories, and geographical skills in analysing and interpreting different data sources. In this way students will continue to enrich their locational knowledge and spatial and environmental understanding.
A core aim is that students will not only think like a geographer but they will communicate like a geographer with specific geographical information in a variety of different ways. We aim for pupils to be able to interpret, discuss and argue using an array of different sources of geographical information, along with varied techniques and understandings, including map work, diagrams, globes, aerial photographs and interactive computer systems, e.g. Geographical Information Systems (GIS). This will allow students to access, apply and advance their numerical and quantitative skills, along with qualitative analysis and writing in depth.
Our expectations
One of the core ideas held within geography is the idea of ‘enquiry based learning’. As such, we expect all students to:
- Be inquisitive about the world around us; after all, everything that was and will ever be is in some way interrelated to geography.
- Be willing to question ideas; the subject is ever-evolving, it is a science in a physical and human sense. Furthermore, we can learn more from our mistakes and from each other so it is right to question what might be perceived as the norm.
Keep up-to-date and read about geographical events in the news; we are all members of the global landscape and the world around us is ever-changing politically, physically, socially and economically, and this is supported in students’ geographical learning.
KS3
The Geography department also helps to run the Duke of Edinburgh Award which is available at year 9 for the Bronze award and year 10 for the Silver award. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) is a youth development program for people aged 14 to 24. It involves completing four (or five, at Gold level) sections:
- Volunteering – Helping the community or environment.
- Physical – Improving fitness through sport or physical activity.
- Skills – Developing a personal interest or learning something new.
- Expedition – Planning and undertaking a self-sufficient journey in a group
Tabor Academy takes part in the UCL Ocean Health Challenge.
The UCL Ocean Health Challenge is a national engineering and design competition aimed at UK secondary school students aged 11–18. Organized by UCL’s Faculty of Engineering, the challenge invites students to explore and tackle the problem of plastic pollution in oceans through creative thinking, scientific understanding, and engineering design. Over the course of around 10 hours, students investigate sources of marine plastic waste, design potential solutions, and develop simple prototypes or portfolios. Supported by free teaching resources—including video lectures from UCL academics—the programme encourages cross-curricular engagement across science, geography, design technology, and more.
The challenge is free for state-maintained schools and aligns with key Gatsby Benchmarks for career education and real-world learning. Submissions are judged in age-specific categories, with top entries earning cash prizes—£2,000 for the school and £500 for the student. Beyond the competition, the project offers a hands-on way to nurture STEM skills, raise environmental awareness, and inspire young people to engage with global issues through practical problem-solving. The initiative also provides access to higher education resources and fosters connections between classroom learning and future career paths.
KS4
Include link to AQA GCSE Geography website:
https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/geography/gcse/geography-8035/specification
Why you should consider this subject for GCSE?
Geography has been cited multiple times by the Guardian newspaper as the ‘must have’ subject in both employability and developing critical thinkers. It’s no surprise considering today’s social, economic, environmental and political climates; there are a plethora of current local and more global issues. Simply put, every aspect of these issues will boil down to geography and how we apply ourselves to make a positive difference. We will need the geographers of the future, to help us understand these issues, but also, to be at the forefront in the combat of them.
Supporting students outside the classroom
The website links and revision guides provided below help improve students' academic outcomes by providing clear, focused summaries of key topics, structured content for organised revision, and practice questions that build familiarity with exam formats. They support independent study, reinforce classroom learning, and clarify difficult concepts, enabling students to better understand material, retain information, and feel more confident in their assessments.
Curriculum Statement
What are the field trip opportunities?
Trips:
Y7 – Epping Forest with the Field Studies Council introducing Geography and skills in practice
Y8 – Natural History Museum and a residential in Norfolk learning about coastal and river processes with some fun personal development activities on the last day.
Y9- Colchester Zoo trip to look at animal adaptations and conservation, Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award is offered.
Y10- Walton-on-the-Naze physical fieldwork as part of the GCSE geographical skills paper
Y11- Stratford or Braintree for the GCSE human fieldwork.
Useful Links
Below are listed just a few useful websites to both help students enhance their learning in geography:
Website Links
BBC Bitesize – Geography (KS3 to GCSE). Topic-based revision, quizzes, and animations aligned to UK curricula. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zrw76sg
Internet Geography- Revision notes, case studies, and interactive quizzes for GCSE and A-Level. https://www.internetgeography.net/
Cool Geography- Revision notes, case studies, and interactive quizzes for GCSE and A-Level. https://www.coolgeography.co.uk/
Textbooks
CPG GCSE Geography AQA Complete Revision & Practice includes Online Edition, Videos & Quizzes https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/secondary-books/gcse/humanities/geography/gas43-gcse-geography-aqa-complete-revision
Oxford Revise AQA GCSE Geography Complete revision and practice.
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General Geography Resources
Royal Geographical Society (RGS) – High-quality resources across physical, human, and environmental geography. https://www.rgs.org/schools/teaching-resources/
Geography in the News – Geographical Association. Current events and case studies with a geographical lens. https://geography.org.uk/
Google Earth Web- Visualise physical features, cities, and global change in 3D. https://earth.google.com/web/
World Bank – DataBank. Access global development indicators (HDI, GDP, CO₂ emissions). https://databank.worldbank.org/
Gapminder- Explore global development trends interactively with real data. https://www.gapminder.org/tools/
Careers in Geography
Careers in Geography Exploring opportunities in the world around us
Geography Careers – Geographical Association. Inspiration and advice on geography-related career paths. https://www.geography.org.uk/Jobs-and-careers-in-geography
National Geographic – Careers in Geography. Interviews with real-world geographers and environmental professionals. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/career-profiles/
