What it is like to be a Geography student at Alsager School

At Alsager School

At Alsager School we pride ourselves on offering a varied and exciting curriculum across all key stages ranging from ‘How Has Humanities Changed the World’ in Key Stage 3 to ‘Challenges of an Urbanizing World’ and ‘Hazardous Earth’ in Key Stage 4. 

For me the most exciting aspect of our Geography curriculum, is the ability to relate everything we do to the world around us.  We encourage students to learn outside the classroom, be that on school trips to conduct fieldwork or microclimate studies within the school grounds.  There has never been a more important time to understand the world around us and the impact we can have on it.

So many of the world’s current problems boil down to geography, and we need the geographers of the future to help us understand them. Global warming, sustainable food production, natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis, the spread of disease, the reasons for migration and the future of energy resources are just some of the great challenges facing the next generation of geographers.  

According to Michael Palin, former President of the Royal Geographical Society, “Geography illuminates the past, explains the present and prepares us for the future.  What could be more important than that?”

Mrs D Coxon

Head of Geograhy

When thinking about Geography at Alsager School we asked a range of students in years 7-9 for their ideas.

What does it mean to be a geographer at Alsager School?

To me being a geographer at Alsager school means being able to gain knowledge about different countries, not just where they are but to try to understand why, how and what each country could do to improve their development.  It also means to gain knowledge about my own country and learn about things I wouldn’t usually learn in other lessons.It also means to be part of an eco-friendly, ready to learn community. You will love being an amazing geographer as you can tell all your friends and family about it!

What skills have you gained from studying geography?

I have gained many skills such as being able to explain why land is shaped as it is using different methods of learning. I have also know what countries need to do to develop and that not every country has the same developing dynamics.I can read maps, know lots about population, immigration and emigration.  I know more about the impacts of climate change, viruses, and how over-populated our world is becoming. I have learnt so much.  

How have your geography lessons helped you to understand the world around you?

My Geography lessons have helped me appreciate the world around me and different ways of looking after it.  It has also helped me appreciate different countries and their different life styles.

They have helped by explaining what really happens, for example, how does being poor mean that you are more likely to have more children, relate to no pensions or little pay? I have learnt to take more care with the world as there is only one. I also learnt about lots of different countries and how they live. 

How have you been challenged in your Geography lessons?

I have been challenged by being given different questions to answer and different case studies to explore. I have been challenged in my Geography lessons in many different ways, one of which was when I studied maps. I found it difficult to remember all of the symbols and what they meant. You have the choice of different tasks in lessons.  I think that you should always challenge yourself and go for the hardest one! 

What have you enjoyed the most in Geography?

I have enjoyed learning about development dynamics and the way they effect each country and the people that live there. I have also enjoyed the case studies of each country. I enjoyed it when we had to make our own island. We had to draw a map, then put grid references in and directions as well as write a story to go with it. I enjoy learning lots of different things about the world and the environment. I also liked learning about how other people live. It is all very interesting. 

What do you know now that you didn’t know before studying Geography at Alsager School?

I know different ways rivers form and how countries develop. I also now know different types of volcanoes and where earthquakes form. I did not know anything about the spread of disease or population control. I had not studied maps, floods, the capital cities of lots of different countries. Everything really. 

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