At Ercall Wood, our key stage 3 Geography curriculum aims to inspire students to explore and understand the world around them, ranging from issues on a global scale to those that are happening in our local area. Through highly engaging lessons, we aim to empower students with the essential knowledge that is needed for life beyond school, build a respect appreciation of the diverse global cultures about and recognise the interconnectedness of human and physical processes.

Our curriculum builds on the knowledge that students have acquired from key stage 2 and as our students progress through key stage 3, we continue to build and connect to their prior knowledge in steps as they progress from year 7 to year 9. Our curriculum uses a thematic approach that integrates both physical and human geography and is designed to revisit areas that have been taught in previous topics, and year groups, to continuously expand and develop student schema. Throughout key stage 3, students will also learn the key skills that are essential to not just being a good geographer -such as being able to read and interpret maps – but also skills which support their learning on a wider scale in other subjects and for lifelong learning such as evidencing their thinking, comprehension and inference of text, statistical skills, data analysis and graphical interpretation.

By the end of key stage 3, we aim for our students to be knowledgeable, thoughtful, and engaged citizens who appreciate the complexity of our world. Our geography curriculum will also help to prepare our students for further study should they chose to continue to GCSE.

At the start of every geography lesson, our student’s complete retrieval practice of the essential knowledge that they have been learning. This retrieval helps to consolidate students’ knowledge by revisiting knowledge from previous units to strengthen memory and practice knowledge that links directly to the concepts that are being taught as the curriculum progresses. Teachers deliver the lesson content following the principles of the academy’s Teaching Framework such as: chunking knowledge to reduce cognitive load and using mini whiteboards to assess student understanding so that teachers know what students’ strengths and misconceptions are and can respond appropriately to close any knowledge gaps. As concepts progress, teachers will model the application of knowledge through guided practice, supporting students as tasks become more complex, and build opportunities for students to independently practice the essential knowledge and skills taught.

To ensure that all students make at least expected progress, students complete regular systematic formative assessments. This includes independent practice tasks throughout each half term which enables both staff and students to evaluate their knowledge and close any gaps in preparation for the termly summative assessment.

Our summative assessments are designed to cover the essential knowledge for each unit and are assessed using both short and long form questions, testing key vocabulary and the skills (both geographical and statistical) taught in each unit. As students progress through the curriculum, they will be assessed on new concepts, but they will also be retested on concepts from the previous units to ensure that students continue to strengthen their long-term memory and schema.

At key stage 3 students complete one piece of homework each fortnight which supports their current learning in the classroom. All students are set homework on Seneca Learning. Each homework involves a learning phase with practice tasks throughout and an assessment at the end of the learning episode where students apply their knowledge from the homework and the learning in class. The Seneca Learning algorithm ensures that students make progress through this homework and provides challenge to student who excel throughout the tasks, ensuring that all students are challenged at their level. Students are directed to these homeworks via SMHW where a link is provided to directly access the homework that they need to complete..

Our curriculum provides a breadth of real-world experiences to enrich our students lives.

Some of our enrichment is as follows:

• Telford- Urban regeneration of The Southwater
• The Wrekin/Snowdonia and its geological past
• Carding Mill Valley- River investigations
• Apley Wood/ Ercall Wood- Ecosystems and biodiversity.
• Birmingham- Changing land use at the Longbridge Car Plant
• Residential visits abroad to the Azores to study tectonics and tourism in action.
• The development of sustainable business at the Jaguar Land Rover i54 site

Within our academy grounds and community.

Geography is an extremely broad and diverse subject which offers a vast variety of potential links to careers. Students who aspire to use their geographical knowledge may delve into many different career fields such as:

• Environmental Science – Careers in environmental management, conservation, and sustainability, focusing on understanding ecological systems and addressing environmental issues within the UK or wider.
• Urban Planning – Urban planners and regional development specialists use geographical knowledge to design and manage urban spaces, ensuring sustainable development and effective use of resources.
• Geographical Information Systems (GIS) – GIS specialists and analysts utilise technology to collect, analyse, and interpret data across places. Careers in this area are in high demand across sectors such as urban planning, transportation, and environmental management.
• Travel and tourism – Geography can inform careers in travel, tourism management and hospitality. The knowledge and appreciation of other places and cultures that students gain from the curriculum can help to create enriching experiences for travellers.
• International Relations and International Development – Geographers can work in NGOs, government agencies and task forces and influence global policies, supporting things such as the World Development Goals in other countries.
• Disaster Management and Emergency Planning – As geographers understand risk, this might mean working as a professional in the field, co-ordinating responses to natural disasters or weather hazards both in the UK or abroad. This may also involve working with communities on relief and recovery efforts.
• Transport and Logistics – Careers such as this need a keen understanding of mapping and systems to optimise routes and improve the efficiency in the movement of people and goods.
• Climate Science and Meteorology – Understanding climate patterns and environmental changes is essential for careers in meteorology, climate research, and related fields.

Geographers at Ercall Wood Academy will gain a wide selection of skills that are vital to businesses. Geography teaches students the skills of communication, decision-making, statistical analysis, systematic processing and spatial thinking, as well as wider soft skills such as teaching empathy and holistic thinking.