Geography
KEY STAGE 3 OVERVIEW
In Geography, we look to expose our learners to environments, cultures & ideas dissimilar to their own. We also seek to make learning relevant to our students’ lives. We want our learners to end up with enhanced reading and writing skills and those of problem-solving and synoptic thinking. The latter is needed in view of the many transformations our world will face in the coming years. Having a means to interpret events like climate change, Brexit and job market automation contributes to our learners’ economic and social well-being.
Sequence
At Harrow High School, Geography is taught in a way that balances physical and human geography while also making the important connections between them. The curriculum is carefully sequenced so that students steadily build their knowledge and skills across Years 7, 8, and 9.
Each year begins with two Big Issues in Geography, introducing students to pressing global challenges and encouraging them to think critically about the world around them. This is followed by the study of two contrasting biomes, where students explore different ecosystems and the interactions between people and the environment. From here, they progress to a series of continental and regional case studies, applying their understanding to real-world places and contexts.
Every year includes synoptic topics such as Tourism, Migration, and Geopolitics, which bring together physical and human geography. These units allow students to connect ideas across the curriculum, consider contemporary issues, and develop a broader appreciation of how geography helps us understand global change.
Students are consistently exposed to GCSE-standard material (including Decision Making Exercises from past GCSE papers), helping them to prepare thoroughly if they wish to take Geography as a GCSE subject.
This structured sequence ensures that students not only gain secure geographical knowledge but also develop the ability to think synoptically, linking concepts across topics to see the bigger picture.
Year 9 Learning Journey & Sequencing Rationale
Encouraging student curiosity & wonder and promoting the value of Geography are at the heart of our KS3 Geography Curriculum.
The Year 9 Geography curriculum is designed to consolidate and extend students’ understanding of the discipline, ensuring they are fully prepared for the demands of GCSE (KS4) and well-placed to progress to A Level (KS5). Building on the foundations established in Year 7 and Year 8, the Year 9 curriculum increases the depth, complexity, and evaluative challenge of geographical study. Students continue to engage with the disciplinary key concepts of place, space, environment, scale, interdependence, sustainability, change, and cultural awareness
The sequence combines global challenges (climate change, resource security, migration), regional studies (Middle East, South America), thematic decision-making exercises (DMEs), and advanced environments (cold environments, glaciers), ensuring learners can apply prior knowledge to increasingly complex and controversial issues. This cumulative progression secures prior learning while promoting higher-level critical thinking required for KS4 and KS5 success.
The sequence has been carefully designed to:
Build on Year 7 and Year 8 knowledge to secure progression
Students revisit core ideas such as climate change, ecosystems, migration, and regional studies, but with increased analytical depth and evaluative rigour. This spiral approach ensures concepts introduced in earlier years are re-examined in new contexts (e.g., from UK and Europe in Y7–8 to Middle East and South America in Y9), promoting long-term retention and progression.
Prepare explicitly for KS4 and KS5 demands
Year 9 introduces students to the complexity and assessment styles of GCSE, such as extended 6–9 mark evaluative questions and structured DMEs. By engaging with controversial issues (e.g., “Should cold environments be conserved at all costs?” or “Is oil the biggest reason for the Middle East’s importance?”), students develop the ability to construct balanced arguments, weigh evidence, and justify conclusions — skills essential for both KS4 and KS5 geographical enquiry.
Interleave physical and human geography at greater complexity
Students study advanced physical geography (deserts, cold environments, glaciers, climate systems) alongside challenging human topics (migration, geopolitics, resource management). This mirrors the structure of GCSE and A Level courses, reinforcing the interconnectedness of processes while demanding more critical analysis than in previous years. Embed and extend key concepts throughout
● Place & Space → Regional depth studies (Middle East, South America) build on earlier work in the UK, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
● Environment & Sustainability → Climate change, desertification, water scarcity, and cold environments extend Y7–8 learning on biomes, hazards, and pollution.
● Scale & Interdependence → Global migration, resource management, and geopolitics demonstrate interconnected systems with direct links to GCSE themes. ● Change & Cultural Awareness → Case studies of urbanisation, diversity in the Middle East, and political impacts of migration prepare learners for evaluative study at KS4/5.
Develop enquiry, decision-making, and evaluative skills
Enquiry questions drive every unit, but Year 9 introduces more sophisticated decision-making exercises (DMEs), mirroring GCSE-style synoptic assessment. Students are required to apply knowledge to real-world dilemmas, evaluate multiple perspectives, and justify decisions. These activities bridge the gap between KS3 enquiry-led learning and KS4/5 problem-solving and essay-based skills.
Connect personal, national, and global contexts
Year 9 continues to root geography in issues that impact students directly (e.g., migration to the UK, climate change effects) while also broadening horizons to global challenges. This prepares students to become reflective global citizens while securing a clear pathway into advanced geographical study
Links to YEAR 9 Geography Booklets
Year 9 Unit 1a Cold Environments
Year 9 Unit 1b Cold Environments
Year 9 Unit 2 Decision-making exercises: Peru
Year 9 Unit 3a The Middle East
Year 9 Unit 3b The Middle East
Unit overview - autumn term
Topics: Big Issues in Geography (3), Biomes (3) and Geography of the Middle East
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Skills |
In Year 9 Term 1, students develop advanced geographical skills that prepare them for GCSE and beyond. They practise synthesising physical and human processes, for example linking climate change with food security and water scarcity. They extend data analysis skills, working with climate graphs, desertification maps, and resource distribution data. Comparative and evaluative skills are strengthened through case studies of the UAE vs. Yemen, contrasting levels of wealth, development, and sustainability. In the Cities unit, students apply enquiry and observation skills to urban environments, analysing how both humans and animals adapt to new challenges. Students also refine extended writing by addressing complex, evaluative questions such as “What can be done about global resource scarcity?” or “Why is the Middle East so important globally?”. |
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Knowledge |
Throughout these units, learners will gain knowledge on: The Term 1 programme embeds key thematic and regional knowledge: Climate Change & Environmental Degradation: links between global warming and degradation of ecosystems, landscapes, and livelihoods. Water Scarcity, Food Security & Resource Management: causes of scarcity (climate, population, conflict, inequality), and strategies for management at local, national, and global scales. Deserts: characteristics of hot deserts, plant and animal adaptations, processes of desertification, and human responses. Cities: urban ecology and examples of how animals are adapting to survive in human-dominated environments. Middle East: ● Location, contested definitions, and reasons for geopolitical significance. ● Physical geography: deserts, rivers, coasts, and climate extremes. ● Climate: aridity and its socio-economic impacts. ● Diversity: ethnic, linguistic, and religious variation. ● Economies: contrast between oil-rich, high-income nations (e.g., UAE) and less developed, conflict-affected states (e.g., Yemen). ● Case Study 1: UAE vs. Yemen → contrasting development pathways and global roles. ● Case Study 2: Sports in the Middle East → globalisation, investment, and soft power. Key disciplinary concepts are reinforced: environment and sustainability (climate change, deserts), scale and interdependence (global resource scarcity, Middle East trade links), place and cultural awareness (Middle East diversity, UAE vs. Yemen), and change (urban ecology, shifting regional power). |
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Rationale |
The work fills gaps in learners' knowledge to the extent that learners tend to have engaged in the study of rainforests in primary school with sometimes knowledge of deserts built on to it. Cold environments have key differences to these two as soil exists as permafrost and human settlement is significantly more difficult here. This work prepares learners for GCSE study where the requirements of the AQA syllabus specifies the need for study of particularly important and distinct biomes. We opt to study Deserts then, but a greater appreciation of the interrelations implied by a systems approach is cultivated by this study as we view for example, how, climate creates adaptive flora and fauna that evolved to survive the challenges of this ecosystem. The scheme of work is interesting for learners as much press coverage of climate change focuses on the relative exposure of places like Antarctica and Greenland to effects like habitat loss, and glacial melting. By offering some more place specific study (e.g. of the livelihoods and scarce development opportunities in these locations) learners engagement can be further piqued. The example of Greenland is chosen for content coverage; there is a large void of knowledge surrounding this place yet it shows up developmental challenges and so too environmental determinism, to the extent that there are lots of constraints on settlement and progress. |
Unit overview - spring term
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Topic 2: Synoptic Work: Peru |
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Skills |
Students must engage with a range of quantitative and relevant qualitative skills, within the unit. In particular there is a need to understand simple mathematical operation and the scope for applying them to data sets. Likewise extended writing skills and specifically the genre of arguing for / against is important as this is learners first exposure to justified decision making as characterises a section of the GCSE they will go on to study. |
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Knowledge |
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Rationale |
This unit, based on past experience, is a very engaging one ahead of GCSE options choices. Having covered large themes in Geography (most obviously relevant in this context, that of Ecosystems in Year 8 & Development in Year 7) students are given opportunities to show synoptic applications of Geography through the use of a past GCSE issue evaluation paper. The knowledge requirements listed above are specific to the Peru case study but much of this is lower order work apt for rote learning. The highest tariff questions which evaluate Peru’s development dilemmas derive much of their challenge from the ability to apply cross-unit work. For example, the implications of Peru’s road building has environmental and economic implications learners are asked to consider. Finally, the variety of stimuli presented in the accompanying resource booklet offers an opportunity to use different forms of geographical description, including mathematical techniques.
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Unit overview - summer term
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Topics: Cold Environments & The Geography of South America |
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Skills |
The Cold Environments unit develops advanced physical geography skills, such as interpreting diagrams of glacial processes, explaining geomorphic features, and evaluating human–environment interactions in fragile ecosystems. Students practise argumentation and evaluative writing when considering whether humans should develop or conserve cold environments, and they strengthen case study application through Antarctica and Svalbard. The South America unit extends regional comparison and synthesis skills, requiring interpretation of physical, climatic, and economic data across a continent of contrasts. Students consolidate case study analysis through Brazil (Amazon rainforest) and Argentina, linking themes of ecosystems, development, and sustainability. Map Skills 3 & 4 secure students’ cartographic competence, focusing on OS maps, thematic maps, contour interpretation, and spatial data analysis. These lessons also support fieldwork preparation and the technical requirements of GCSE Paper 3. |
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Knowledge |
Throughout these units, learners will gain knowledge on: Students develop secure and wide-ranging knowledge across physical, human, and technical geography: Cold Environments: ● Characteristics: why they are extreme and fragile. ● Features: permafrost, tundra, polar deserts, glaciers. ● Adaptations: how plants, animals, and people survive in cold climates. ● Antarctica: global importance for climate, ecosystems, and international agreements. ● Development vs. conservation: debate over resource extraction vs. protection. ● Svalbard: settlement, economy, and adaptation to Arctic living. ● Glaciers: processes, landforms, and importance in the context of climate change. South America: ● Location, scale, and global importance. ● Physical geography: Andes, Amazon Basin, Pampas, Atacama Desert. ● Climate: tropical rainforest, arid, and temperate zones, with human and economic impacts. ● Diversity: cultural, linguistic, and ethnic variety. ● Economies: variation between developed and less developed states. ● Case Study 1 – Brazil (Amazon RF): biodiversity, deforestation, and sustainability. ● Case Study 2 – Argentina: agriculture, economic development, and cultural identity. Map Skills 3 & 4: ● Advanced OS map interpretation, including symbols, contours, and scale. ● Thematic mapping (population, climate, land use). ● Linking spatial data to geographical processes and enquiry. |
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Rationale |
The Term 3 sequence is designed to consolidate KS3 learning with complex ecosystems and regional breadth, while explicitly preparing students for GCSE content and skills. The Cold Environments unit builds on earlier biome studies (rainforests, savannah, deserts, polar) and introduces content mirrored in GCSE Paper 1 (hot and cold environments). The focus on Antarctica and Svalbard provides case study depth, while the study of glaciers establishes the geomorphological knowledge needed for GCSE units on rivers, coasts, and landscapes. Evaluative debates about development vs. conservation ensure students practise GCSE-style extended responses and begin to handle the synoptic issues later emphasised at KS5. The South America regional study extends KS3’s global coverage, following earlier units on the UK, North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. It ensures students develop a truly global perspective while revisiting concepts of sustainability, development, and diversity in new contexts. Brazil and Argentina allow for meaningful comparison, sharpening the comparative and evaluative skills central to GCSE assessment. Map Skills 3 & 4 complete the technical progression begun in Years 7 and 8, ensuring students leave KS3 with mastery of maps, data handling, and enquiry techniques. These skills are directly transferable to GCSE Paper 3 and provide a foundation for A Level independent investigations. Together, these topics: ● Revisit and deepen key disciplinary concepts (sustainability, scale, interdependence, change). ● Provide direct links to GCSE Paper 1 (ecosystems, hazards), Paper 2 (development, economies), and Paper 3 (skills and fieldwork). ● Consolidate KS3 by combining thematic, regional, and technical learning into one term, ensuring students are fully prepared to transition into KS4. |
Knowledge Organiser
A knowledge organiser is an important document that lists the important facts that learners should know by the end of a unit of work. It is important that learners can recall these facts easily, so that when they are answering challenging questions in their assessments and GCSE and A-Level exams, they are not wasting precious time in exams focusing on remembering simple facts, but making complex arguments and calculations.
We encourage all pupils to use them by doing the following:
- Quiz themselves at home, using the read, write, cover, check method.
- Practise spelling key vocabulary
- Further researching people, events and processes most relevant to the unit.