We have had an exciting start to the new academic year in Geography, with plenty of engaging fieldwork and stimulating classroom discussions to kick things off.

Year 11 jumped straight into September with a local investigation into how the quality of life varies across Stratford, which formed part of the compulsory fieldwork element of their Geography GCSE. The trip was truly eye-opening, and students had the opportunity to carry out a range of data collection methods, including an Environmental Quality Survey, Service Tally, and Crime Perception Index across two contrasting locations in Stratford. I was particularly impressed with the confidence and enthusiasm they showed, especially when conducting questionnaires with members of the public in the East Village area. They were an absolute credit to the Academy, and I even had several people approach me to comment on how polite and professional our students were – something they should be incredibly proud of!

After a few lessons analysing the data from our fieldwork, Year 11 were back into the classroom studying Urban Landscapes. We will soon be moving on to Natural Hazards which I know will really capture their interest, especially with the recent news of Hurricane Milton and Helene – prime case studies for tropical storms.

Our new cohort of Year 10 GCSE students have also had a fantastic start. We have begun the year by exploring Development Dynamics, and I am genuinely pleased with how quickly they have grasped some of the more complex concepts. Their positive attitude and work ethic have been a breath of fresh air, and I am excited to see how they continue to develop over the coming months.

Year 9 students have been diving into the topics of Population and Migration. They have already evaluated China’s One Child Policy, introduced in the 1980s, and recently completed a decision-making exercise where they had to choose the best location for a retirement home in Dunbar, Scotland, considering factors linked to an ageing population. After Half-Term, we will be moving onto Africa, investigating common misconceptions and exploring a bit more of the Human & Physical features of this varied continent!

With so much happening in the world of Geography right now, we have had no shortage of recent events to incorporate into lessons, and I am excited to see more of these in our lessons in the coming weeks.