Key Stage 3: Years 8, 9 & 10
The revised Northern Ireland Curriculum aims to empower young people to achieve their potential and to make informed and responsible choices and decisions throughout their lives. It is about helping pupils to prepare for life and work:
- As individuals
- As contributors to society;
- As contributors to the economy and the environment.
Geography has a significant role to play in this because young people at this age have a keen interest in trying to understand major issues that directly affect their lives and their communities. They are also concerned about what is happening in other parts of the world. Pollution, migration, climate change, global poverty and natural hazards are commonplace news items. These issues demonstrate how what happens in one part of the world influences, and is influenced by what happens in another part. This is an important time and opportunity in young peoples’ lives to help them explore…….
- Their sense of identity and belonging
- Their curiosity about the world around them, and
- Their value system about how we interact with our world and with each other.
At Key Stage 3 we have an exciting and relevant programme of study that embraces cross-curricular skills (Communication, Using ICT and Using Mathematics) and the Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities.
In Year 8 the pupils study six themes:
Unit 1 – Introducing Geography
Unit 2 – Making and Mapping Connections
Unit 3 – Exploring the British Isles
Unit 4 – Rivers and Floods
Unit 5 – Settlements and Shopping
Unit 6 – Geography ‘Rocks’
In Year 9 the pupils study five themes:
Unit 1 – Atlas and GIS skills
Unit 2 – Our Atmosphere
Unit 3 – The Circle of Life
Unit 4 – People Everywhere
Unit 5 – Energy and Climate Change
In Year 10 the pupils study six themes:
Unit 1 – Get the Picture!
Unit 2 – Our Restless Planet
Unit 3 – A World of Contrasts
Unit 4 – Passport to the World
Unit 5 – Global Fashion
Unit 6 – Coffee Break!
Fieldwork is at the heart of our local and global outlook and changes from year to year. A local study of the Strandtown area is a key part of our Year 8 summer programme while a river and coastal study at Crawfordsburn Country Park occurs in Year 9.
