Geography Curriculum Intent

Curriculum Vision

Our curriculum intent applies to all our young people, regardless of background, gender, sexual orientation, or ability. As a school and as a department, we are absolutely committed to providing opportunities that ensure that each student can reach and exceed their potential.

At Washington Academy, our young people become global citizens and geographers. We inspire them to ask critical questions about the world they live in and their role within it. All students are, without exception, entitled to a world-class geographical education that is holistic, ambitious and aspirational.

Our geography curriculum is underpinned by powerful geographical knowledge. This knowledge is carefully selected and coherently sequenced to enable pupils to develop secure, connected understanding over time. Students gain a deep understanding of the interaction between physical processes, human systems and the environment across different spatial and temporal scales.

We explicitly teach both substantive knowledge (key concepts such as place, space, scale, interdependence, sustainability and development) and disciplinary knowledge (how geographers think, enquire, interpret data, evaluate evidence and construct arguments). Through structured geographical enquiry, pupils learn to apply this knowledge with increasing independence, precision and analytical depth as they progress through the curriculum.

Curriculum Rationale and Sequencing

Students follow a programme of study rooted in the National Curriculum at Key Stage 3 and sequenced carefully into the AQA specification at Key Stage 4.

The curriculum is coherently planned from Year 7 to Year 11, ensuring that foundational concepts are revisited, deepened and applied in increasingly complex contexts. This cumulative approach enables pupils to retain knowledge securely and apply it confidently in new and unfamiliar situations.

Units are selected to reflect both local relevance (for example UK landscapes and Newcastle fieldwork) and global representation (including Africa, Russia, the Middle East, Nigeria and Rio). This ensures pupils gain cultural capital and develop an informed understanding of diverse places, communities and global interdependence.

Literacy and Disciplinary Reading

Literacy is embedded across the curriculum to ensure students learn to read, think and write like geographers. Vocabulary instruction is systematic and cumulative, enabling

pupils to access increasingly complex geographical texts, case studies and examination materials with confidence.

Students are explicitly taught how to interpret maps, graphs, infographics and extended case studies, and how to construct structured geographical explanations and evaluations. Writing is carefully modelled to ensure clarity, coherence and the ability to produce extended analytical responses aligned with GCSE expectations.

Numeracy and Data Literacy

Numeracy is integral to Geography. Statistical, graphical and numerical skills are embedded across Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. Pupils develop fluency in interpreting both quantitative and qualitative data, strengthening their ability to evaluate evidence and draw substantiated conclusions.

Ambition for All

We maintain high expectations for all learners, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Our curriculum is designed to remove barriers to achievement and ensure equitable access to powerful geographical knowledge.

Adaptive teaching strategies, explicit vocabulary instruction and structured scaffolding ensure that all pupils can access the full geographical curriculum and make sustained progress over time.

Assessment

Assessment is structured to ensure students build secure foundations and make sustained progress. Assessment is cumulative and designed to strengthen long-term retention through regular retrieval, application and synoptic practice.

At Key Stage 3, end-of-unit assessments evaluate Knowledge, Skills and Application. At Key Stage 4, assessments are synoptic and exam-aligned, supporting examination readiness and secure retention of content.

Preparation for Future Pathways

We are responsible for ensuring our young people are confident to pursue ambitious next steps in geographical education, employment or training.

Careers education is explicitly integrated throughout the curriculum, highlighting how geographical knowledge and skills translate into a wide range of professional pathways, including environmental science, urban planning, climate research, GIS analysis, international development and sustainability consultancy.

Through Geography, students develop highly transferable skills including data interpretation, critical thinking, ethical reasoning, argument construction and problem solving.