KS4 Geography
KS4 Curriculum Intention
At Scarborough UTC, our GCSE Geography curriculum empowers students to become confident, globally aware citizens. Through the study of physical and human geography, students explore the processes shaping our world and the challenges facing societies today. Themes of sustainability, development, globalisation, and climate change are embedded throughout, encouraging students to think critically about their role in the modern world. Geographical skills, including map work, data analysis, ICT, and GIS, are developed across all topics, with fieldwork giving students real-world opportunities to apply their knowledge and understanding. Our curriculum promotes curiosity, resilience, and independent thinking, preparing learners for future study, careers, and life beyond the classroom.
KS4 Curriculum Knowledge Covered
At KS4 we follow the AQA specification. Students dive into the complexities of our changing world through a broad and exciting geography curriculum.
They investigate the dramatic forces behind natural hazards like earthquakes, volcanoes, tropical storms, and climate change, before exploring how urbanisation is reshaping cities in the UK and around the world including a deep dive into urban growth in India. From the biodiversity of tropical rainforests to the icy landscapes of Svalbard, students gain a global perspective on environmental challenges and sustainable management. Closer to home, they study UK rivers and coastlines, learning how these landscapes form and how we manage flooding and coastal erosion. Global inequalities are tackled through the study of development gaps, trade, and migration, while resource management lessons ask whether the UK can secure its food, water, and energy future.
Fieldwork plays a key role, with students carrying out real investigations in Scarborough and along the Holderness Coast. Throughout, learners develop practical geographical skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities, preparing them for both academic success and real-world application.
Mutually beneficial curriculum connections
- Mathematics
Data handling skills are developed using graphs, statistical analysis (mean, median, mode, range), interpreting hydrographs, population pyramids, and proportional symbols. - English
Extended writing tasks encourage evaluation, argument development, and structured explanations, improving literacy and communication skills. - Science
Key physical geography topics (tectonics, climate change, ecosystems, rivers, coasts) directly support learning in physics, chemistry, and biology, especially in earth science, environmental science, and hydrology. - Engineering
Topics such as flood and coastal defence, urban planning, and sustainable energy systems provide real-world engineering applications and problem-solving scenarios. - Sociology Urbanisation, global development, inequality, and migration link closely to sociological themes, enabling students to examine human behaviour and social structures from a geographical perspective.
- Health & Social Care
Studies of resource management, urban living conditions, and the impacts of natural hazards offer insights into public health challenges, disaster response, and community wellbeing. - Computer science is referred to in different contexts, particularly the growing quaternary sector of employment.
