Geography
Our Geography Vision: A Curious Look at the World
At Holland Park, we want to inspire in every child a curiosity and fascination about the world around them. Our curriculum is designed to make pupils fluent in applying geographical knowledge and skills, understanding both our local area and the wider world.
What Your Child Will Study
The Geography curriculum is divided into four main areas that build upon each other every year:
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Locational Knowledge: Being fluent in knowing where places are (local, national, and global).
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Physical Geography: Understanding natural features and processes (e.g., rivers, volcanoes, climate).
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Human Geography: Understanding how people live and interact with the environment (e.g., cities, population, culture).
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Geographical Skills & Fieldwork: Learning to use maps, globes, compasses, and conducting local studies.
Key Teaching Approaches
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Building Blocks: Topics start by "zooming in" (e.g., our local area) and then "zooming out" (e.g., the wider world) to give context and build on prior learning.
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Locational Retrieval: Locational knowledge is re-taught and reinforced every year to ensure it is secure in long-term memory.
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Real-World Experience: We use a range of media, resources, and real-life experiences to make learning rich and relatable, often exploring places that are very different from our own.
Essential Tools in the Classroom
Every classroom is equipped with essential tools to support locational learning:
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A Globe.
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A "Zoom Map" that displays the world, Europe, the UK, Essex, and Clacton.
Focus on Our Changing World
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Current Events: We keep pupils up to date with the challenges of our ever-changing world, including human and physical environmental issues and their impact.
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Environmental Responsibility: We actively encourage children to be environmentally friendly by setting an example in school, including recycling and reducing energy use.