Welcome to the Geography Department.

Geography is fun! After all it is about the world YOU live in and the decisions which shape how it looks and how it will change in the future.

*** *** Geography Department Staff *** ***

# Miss CA Leeke. #Head of Geography.

# Mr S. Halligan.

# Mr J. Hoad.

*** *** Breaking news: *** ***

YEAR 10 & 11 - check with your teacher they will need to see your G.C.S.E. COURSEWORK early in September.

*** ***

YEAR 9, 10, 11 - geographical magazines and revision guides can be purchased from Geography staff.

*** *** ON-LINE NEWS *** ***

On-line support can be found in the following places:

a. Files and Links pages of this web site.

b. Shared documents area of the school network.

c. Geography web page, accessed from the school's M-S Explorer log on page.

d. Your own files, which like b and c, can now be accessed from home by logging onto:

https://folders.saintgeorgescofe.kent.sch.uk

e. Internet sites like the National Geographic or BBC.

*** *** Aims of Geography *** ***

Our objectives in Geography are not only to teach the knowledge required by the National Curriculum. We also give each student a range of skills which are not only useful in Geography but can be transferred to other subjects.

There are many wider themes contained within all Geography teaching, they include:

a. General awareness of world events, their location, and cultural impact.

b. Knowledge of different levels of poverty and economic development in a range of locations.

c. Ability to identify extremes within the human and physical world. For example ‘How bad was that hurricane?’

d. Ability to identify the consequences of their own, and society’s, impact upon our natural environment.

e. Awareness that many of the decisions taken by industry, governments or individuals are based on a range of reasons and that many are contradictory or based on poor information.

*** Head of Department's Message ***

Hi there!

Sorry under development.

Geography in the News.

Places, Famous people, Cultures, Environmental problems from around the world are often mentioned in the TV and printed news, and even in fiction stories.

Why not look these places up in an atlas or ask a member of staff where these places are, if you are not sure. Ask if the event you heard about is common or unusual for that part of the world.

Just a few examples:

* Small earthquakes in Manchester, UK. Oct 2002.

* New season of bush fires starts early in South Eastern Australia. Remember it is still only their spring. Oct-Dec 2002.

* Continued civil disobedience and suicide bomb attacks in Israel. Summer 2002.

* Killer Whale (Keiko) released from captivity off Iceland reappears in Norway, playing with the tourists. Nov 2002.

* Motorists stranded on the M11 for 18-24 hours in sudden snow storm. Jan 2003.

* Space Shuttle breaks up over Texas, U.S.A. Feb 2003.

* War in Iraq. Army operates out of Kuwait, the Navy in the Persian Gulf and the Air Forces,from Kuwait, Dubai and U.K. April 2003.

* Earthquake in eastern Turkey. 1st May 2003.

* Earthquake kills 20 000 in Iran. December 2003.

* Snow hits southern England. January 2004.

* Flooding in Bangladesh July 2004 covers most of the country. Very little in the media. Flash flood kills no one in Boscastle. Huge media blitz for days!!

* 4 significant hurricanes hit the Caribbean and USA. Many killed in grenada, Cayman Islands and Haiti. September 2004.

* Mount St Helens erupts ash for the first time since 53 killed in 1980 eruption. October 2004.

* 26th december 2004. Tsunami strikes Asia after a large earhtquake beneath the Indian Ocean. Last major tsunami here in 1883 after Krakatoa erupted.

* 26th March 2005. Earthquake kills several hundred on western islands of Indonesia. Widespread panic and evacuations from the regions coastlines in case a tsunami was coming.

* 19th June 2005. Several towns in North Yorkshire flooded by unusually heavy rain. (Remember Boscastle in Spetmeber?)

* 30th September. Hurricane Katrina strikes New Orleans and causes severe flooding as levees break on the Mississippi. The whole city has to be evacuated.

* January 2006. Massive landslide hits the coast of Dorset. Helicopters are used to evacuate trapped tourists from the rising tide.

* January 2006. Where should Bottle Nosed Whales live? Certainly not in the River Thames!

* July 2006. Java in Indonesia has bad luck. A tsunami strikes close to where several thousand died in an Earthquake in April and close to the Merapi volcano that has been threatening a massive eruption.

... And Finally ...

Last updated 28th Jul 2006.

*** *** ***

The T.V. is useful for G.C.S.E. and A-Level candidates, that is IF you're watching the news and documentaries rather than Big Brother!!

How about recording the BBC Bitesize Revision Programmes and using www.bbc.co.uk as part of your revision studies.

And finally. Remember Geography is everywhere, even in the air we breathe.