*** This Page is still under construction ***

Geography is taught in Social Subjects throughout S1 and S2 - which has it's own page accesible from the drop down menu above.

Towards the end of S2 all pupils have the opportunity to choose subjetcs to specialise in during years 3 and 4.

The Standard Grade Geography course is offered as one of these options. The course will help you:

• understand the environment at local and global scales;
• investigate your world through fieldwork;
• consider the background to, and impacts of, decisions that effect the world we live in;
• develop a wide range of transferable skills;
• use computers and other technology for analysis/presentation;
• understand and appreciate other cultures in UK and throughout the world;
• locate and learn about of a broad range of countries and environments;

Three course is taught through a varied set of topics as detailed below:

In S3

Glaciation:
Many of Scotland’s most dramatic landscapes have been shaped by ice. This unit explores the origin, processes and effects of glaciers using images, videos, experiments, and animations to bring this fascinating subject to life.

Rivers:
Whereas glaciers have now vanished from our landscape, the effects of rivers are visible all around us. The rivers unit will examine how rivers erode, transport and deposit material and the features formed by these processes like waterfalls and meanders are created. It also looks at how rivers influence human activity.

Settlement:
A range of issues are examined including the historical development of settlements; land use within settlements and modern urban issues like traffic congestion and methods of tackling them.

Industry:
Students will learn about the industrial system; the reasons why industry may be attracted to an area; the impact of industrial closure; the decline of British manufacturing; inward investment and the rise of new industries.

Farming and Conflict in the Countryside:
The final unit in S3 deals with decision making in the countryside and the various types of land use that result. It analyses some of the most topical rural land uses (Shetland's wind farm proposal, super pylons, and conflict in the countryside - particularly with conflicts that arise between users of Scotland's National Parks.

In S4:

Population:
Some of the most controversial issues facing human kind are those raised by our ever growing numbers. As well as looking at how census data is collected and displayed we look at the motivation for large families in the developing world, the factors that are beginning to reduce birth rates and the dramatic changes that are now affecting the developed world.

Natural Regions and Global environmental issues:
This unit looks at some of the many environmental issues that confront humanity in the 21st Century. We examine the underlying causes of global warming, desertification, tropical deforestation and our use and abuse of the oceans before exploring the possible solutions to these challenges on both a local and a global scale.

Trade and Aid:
The unit starts by examining the inequalities that exist across the planet and the reasons for these. As part of this we look at the colonial history of many developing countries and the effects of world trading systems. We then examine the various ways in which developing countries, in partnership with organisations from developed nations and each other, have tried to address these problems. These strategies include fair trade and different forms of aid.

Enquiry Skills:
This unit of work starts with a series of field trip activities to look at many of the concepts learned throughout the course in the Shetland Environment. We discover how to gather information and once back in school learn how best to process that information and present the results.

Weather:
Combining Geography and science we look at the the factors that affect the weather in the UK. We look at the measurement of the weather, how this data is displayed and learn meteorological symbols, before learning how air masses, depressions and anticyclones make our weather so varied. Towards the end of this unit we are able to interpret weather information and forecast the weather.

“Geography deals with the whole spectrum of life on earth, from the molecules of rocks to the global sweeps of war and migration. In a world that faces climate change, pandemics, drought, war, energy shortages, mass migrations and terrorism, that viewpoint is crucial. Geographers should be - and are - employable in hundreds of fields.”
- Hilary Wilce in the Independent, 13 April 2006

“Geography is the subject which holds the key to our future“
- Michael Palin

Welcome to the geography page.