Geography

Head of Department: Dale Bright -
Geography is quintessentially a ‘discovery subject’. It starts at an early age, when a young child encounters and begins to discover the world. By helping to explain and inspire curiosity about the earth, Geography can nourish and enrich a whole lifetime of learning. Geography fascinates and enthralls: the beauty of the earth, the terrible power of earth-shaping forces – these things can take us out of ourselves. Geography deepens understanding: many contemporary challenges – climate change, food security, energy choices – cannot be understood without a geographical perspective. We explore values and issues, and challenge stereotypes whilst still encouraging the children to think for themselves. We aim to give Saint Ronan’s children the freedom to develop their own informed ideas and to have the confidence and ability to defend their opinions.

There was a time when it was all about exploration, describing and assembling information about the world: literally, geography was ‘writing the world’. Today, geography can embrace many forms of enquiry and exploration, using imagination and creativity to think critically about what we see. It is still about exploration and discovery, but using the media and digital technologies as well as first-hand experience. Geographers are skilful: using maps and mediated images of people and place, numerical data and graphical modes of communication and getting to grips with the geographic information systems that underpin our lives, make geographers skilful and employable.

Geography serves vital educational goals: thinking and decision-making in Geography helps us to live our lives as knowledgeable citizens, aware of our own local communities in a global setting. At Saint Ronan’s, Geography students will learn through the following themes:

  • Location Knowledge (Local, National and Global)
  • Ordnance Survey Map Skills
  • Rivers and Coasts
  • Weather and Climate
  • Earthquakes and Volcanoes
  • Industry and Transport
  • Population and Settlement
  • Each year group will be involved in fieldwork of some sort, whether this be off-site or using the beautiful grounds at Saint Ronan’s.