Our aim in the geography department is to inspire in pupils a curiosity and fascination about the world and its people that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. This aligns the Sigma Trust mission statement to ensure that “no child is left behind,” with a vision that all pupils feel they belong and are the best they can be. We want to teach the students about a variety of different communities, so they understand the world and feel they belong. We always bring our learning back to a sense of place and belonging. The topics that we study are wide ranging from the rainforest to hazards to the UK. With the rainforest we enable students to look at the global issue of deforestation and how that issue can be tackled. With hazards we are empathetic to the impacts on people and the environment. With the UK we look at all areas of the UK so students gain a sense of belonging to where they live. We aim to offer our young people an interesting, engaging, relevant and challenging curriculum, which will provide students with valuable knowledge which will enable them to be the best they can be.
It is vital that our young people have an awareness and a genuine consideration of the important geographical issues which surround their everyday lives and the community they live in. We see it as our responsibility to educate the future generations in a way that allows them to be considerate and curious of the physical and human environment around them. Having a greater knowledge of the environment and geographical world enables them to understand the part they play in tackling issues such as geopolitics and climate change, which are two topics that we study in year 9, creating a sense of belonging to an issue and solution in the world today.
A further responsibility of the Geography Department is to ensure that no student gets left behind, we do this through the detailed planning of our lessons, with a range of accessible activities to inspire all, scaffolded tasks so all students can access the curriculum and consistent assessment that can be accessed by all.
Our ambition as a Geography department is to deliver a curriculum to our students which fills them with genuine wonder and awe about the physical and human world around them, and equips them with the skills they need to be successfully functioning and contributing members of our society in their future lives and always pushing them to be the best they can be.
