Geography
Head of Geography: Mr P Scriven (email)
Geography is all about the living, breathing essence of the world we live in. It explains the past, illuminates the present and prepares us for the future.
Michael Palin (2008)
At Davenies in 2010-11, we agree with Michael’s sentiments! Geography within the school is vibrant and dynamic, offering real potential to both inspire boys and to instil a sense of value, and awe and wonder about our world. We also encourage them to think critically about the future world in which they will live, making it among the most relevant of subjects on offer within the curriculum.
Geography helps boys to make sense of a constantly changing and complex world. We endeavour to explain why places and landscapes are formed. Furthermore, we explore our place on Earth, our values and responsibilities to other people, to the environment and towards the sustainability of the planet. No mean feat, some would say...
How do we achieve this? Geography is taught as a practical subject. As such, we aim to get out of the classroom and gain real understanding of the subject matter wherever possible. Almost all year groups carry out at least two off-site fieldwork trips per year. In 2009-10, boys in Years 3 – 8 travelled on residential visits to the South Downs National Park, to Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Dorset, Normandy, Iceland and Egypt, as well as on a series of day trips, including to the River Wye in Wooburn Green, Mop End Field Study Centre in Amersham, the Natural History Museum in London and the ‘Living Rainforest’ in Newbury. Boys also carried out weather studies in the school grounds, as well as traffic and environmental surveys in the local high street.
We also aim to visit an ‘unusual’ location every year! In October 2009 it was a week-long visit to Iceland, famous for the plethora of physical and environmental geography which it offers!
The department is continually embracing new technologies (as fast as we and the children can manage)! We follow an enquiry based approach, where most lessons begin with a question, which we then try to answer. The use of laptops for editing and presenting work is commonplace. An interactive whiteboard allows whole class teaching to engage all boys. Brand new ‘Geog.123’ textbooks have been purchased for September this year, with up-to-date case studies, are taught using a variety of teaching styles. These help boys to develop passion and very high levels of motivation for the subject.
Another facet of the department is the importance which it places on sustainability. Just over a year ago, we opened our new kitchen garden, in which the boys have been growing vegetables. Kitchen waste is recycled in our wormery. We also recycle as a matter of course paper and cardboard, glass, plastic milk bottles and printer cartridges. After Christmas, we will continue with our annual used clothing and mobile phone collection. The proceeds are donated to our partnership school in South Africa, which three Year 8 boys visited during last year’s summer holiday. A reciprocal arrangement is currently being arranged.
All in all, a very busy Department!