The Geography department believes Geography is one of the foundation blocks that all other subjects are built on, and as such Geography is visible in every aspect of human life. As a dynamic, ever changing subject Geography evokes a natural curiosity of the World around us.
The department aims to develop a passion for Geography that allows students to achieve exceptional results. Through a variety of approaches to teaching and learning we aim to create students who are enquirers, reflective and actively engaged. An emphasis is made on building open internationally minded students that can see the World through different perspectives, who understand how economies, societies and environments are interconnected and understand the contemporary challenges facing our world. By understanding global, regional and local challenges students are encouraged to consider the impact of their decisions on future sustainability.
Learning in the classroom involves a range of interactive activities, up to date resources and open discussion to engage and inspire students.
Students are actively encouraged to participate, develop excellent oral and literacy skills to allow them to communicate their understanding and opinions clearly through presentations, report writing and extended writing. We are keen that students should apply what they learnt in the classroom to the real world and as a consequence students are expected to keep up to date with current affairs, consider how their lives connect to concepts taught and engage in out of classroom learning. The department has established a number of local fieldtrips to develop geographical investigations skills across all year groups including mapping and urban studies in Seogwipo to coastal studies at Hamo Beach and Songaksan. Fieldtrips allow students to develop transferable skills including logical investigation, data analysis, report writing and ICT.
At KS3 students learn geography by viewing the world at varying scales; from local to global; and completing comparison studies. Year 7 students examine the geography of Jeju Island and compare it to the Geography of London. In Year 8 regional geography is explored by a comparison study between East Asia and West Africa and differing extreme environments. In Year 9 global issues are studied such as disease and health in Geography and globalization. The study of these topics at KS3 gives the foundation for the success at IGCSE and IB level. Geography students at IGCSE and IB develop an in-depth understanding of the interrelationships between people, places, spaces and the environment; develop a concern for human welfare and the quality of the environment, and an understanding of the need for planning and sustainable management. Students are expected to appreciate the relevance of geography in analyzing contemporary issues and challenges, and develop a global perspective of diversity and change.
