Geography

At our school, we intend for Geography to inspire pupils’ curiosity and fascination about the world and its people, while developing a strong understanding of the relationship between place, space, scale, environment, economic activity, cultural awareness and interconnection across local, national and global contexts. Our curriculum is carefully structured around these substantive geographical threads so that children revisit and deepen their understanding over time, building secure and connected geographical knowledge.

Our Geography curriculum is designed to meet the requirements of the Key Stage 2 National Curriculum for Geography by enabling pupils to develop:

• locational knowledge through studies of continents, oceans, countries, regions and significant global locations;

• place knowledge through comparisons of the local area with regions in Europe, North and South America and beyond;

• understanding of human and physical geography, including climate, rivers, mountains, settlements, trade, land use and environmental change;

• strong geographical skills and fieldwork, including map work, observation, data collection and interpretation.

This is reflected in the progression of our curriculum, from early studies such as Continents and Oceans, Scandinavia and the Chiltern Hills in Year 3, through to broader and more complex geographical themes such as the United Kingdom, Rivers, the Mediterranean, USA, Mountains, Japan, Rainforests, Global Trade and a Local Area Study in later years. These units have been deliberately chosen to ensure coverage of both the National Curriculum content and the substantive concepts that help pupils think like geographers.

We want children to know not only where places are, but also what they are like, how they are connected, how they change and why they matter. Through our curriculum, pupils explore the features of places, patterns of settlement, environmental processes, climate, trade, land use and cultural diversity. They consider the impact of human activity on the environment, such as sea pollution, river use, deforestation and the effects of tourism and trade, helping them to understand their role as informed and responsible global citizens.

Our local area is a vital starting point for geographical learning. By studying the Chiltern Hills, the River Chess/Chess Valley and changes within the village over time, pupils develop a strong sense of place and identity while applying fieldwork skills in meaningful contexts. These local studies are then connected to wider national and global learning, such as comparing the River Chess with the Nile, the Chiltern Hills with mountain environments, and local communities with those in Scandinavia, Japan, the Amazon and the USA.

Through this approach, we aim for our pupils to leave primary school with a secure body of geographical knowledge, a rich vocabulary, well-developed enquiry skills and a growing understanding of the diversity and interdependence of the world. We want them to be able to ask thoughtful questions, interpret evidence, recognise patterns, make comparisons and appreciate the complexity of human and physical processes shaping our planet.