Geography

In the Geography department at Talbot Heath, we aim to open your daughters’ eyes to the world around her, encouraging her practical fieldwork and independent learning skills. We are fortunate that only subject-specialist teachers deliver the curriculum and we do this in a number of ways in order to enable her to make progress as she moves from KS3 to GCSE. We offer a balanced curriculum which will build her knowledge of place, develop her understanding of physical and human geography and provide her with many transferable skills.

Fieldwork is an essential part of what we offer, with every year group taking part in day or residential trips. Our situation on the south coast means that we are able to access a wealth of landscapes, whether they are coastal, national park, examples of urban redevelopment or ecosystem case studies. Trips are designed to reinforce knowledge gained in the classroom whilst encouraging extension and independent investigation. The new GCSE specifications require students to be able to apply their mathematical skills to data processing and our fieldwork opportunities facilitate this in a meaningful way for our chosen AQA course.

In September 2015 we were delighted to be recognised by the Geographical Association with the award of their SGQM & Centre of Excellence. This dual award was recognition of our high quality teaching, effective lessons and good student outcomes, as well as our work with the wider community. We are a popular GCSE option subject, with students recognizing the value of geography to their future education and career plans. They know that we will work with them to maximize their potential, whilst fostering a love of the subject. Talbot Heath geography staff endeavor to provide a number of extra-curricular opportunities to stretch and challenge our students. The Dorset GA Branch (set up by our geography staff) runs the WorldWise quizzes, where students from local schools (Year 9-11) take part in an annual competition to test their geographical knowledge and there is now a junior version for years 7 and 8. Along with a variety of clubs (Japanese, Oriental & WorldWise) the department strives to provide students with a well-balanced curriculum, which is relevant to their own experiences.