Geography

Head of Department: Mrs Nicola Price

Geography is a compulsory part of the curriculum for girls in Remove (Year 7) to Upper Fourth (Year 9), after which it proves to be a very popular subject to follow at GCSE and A level, due in part to the specialist teaching, breadth of topics covered and the opportunities for exciting fieldwork trips.

Lower School curriculum

In the Remove, we introduce and explore the different types of geography and build up the pupils’ geographical skills in map reading, graphicacy and numeracy. Throughout the Remove year, we build up these skills by exploring the UK and Europe further. Pupils then examine the topics of Rivers and Flooding, which includes decision making exercises to consider the most effective ways of managing rivers.

In the Lower Fourth, we take a more global approach by exploring the changing Population and Migration. Pupils look at issues from a range of perspectives in order to understand different opinions and experiences. We then explore the exciting topics of Weather and Climate, as well as topical geography which enables pupils to develop their research and presentation skills.

The Upper Fourth begin their GCSE studies with the topic of ecosystems, including tropical rain forests and cold environments. We also investigate the changing economic world with a focus on case studies of places with contrasting levels of development.

Upper School curriculum

A balance of physical, environmental and human themes is taken further by pupils choosing to continue with Geography at GCSE. We have chosen to follow the latest AQA GCSE specification. Pupils in Lower Fifth study UK Landscapes, through the Rivers and Coasts options. They then move on to look at Urban Issues, where they investigate challenges facing urban dwellers and planners around the world. We finish the Lower Fifth with the exciting topic of Hazardous Earth and focus on Tectonic Hazards.

The Upper Fifth commence the year with continuing the topic of Hazardous Earth. In addition to Tectonic Hazards, pupils also look at the challenges of Extreme Weather, such as Tropical Storms and Climate Change.

The pupils take part in a two-day residential trip where they learn essential geographical fieldwork skills at an FSC Field Centre. This is to prepare them for their Paper 3 fieldwork paper. We then focus on the Managing Resources topic, where pupils focus on the importance of conserving resources, with a particular emphasis on water management. We complete the GCSE course by preparing for a skills-based Pre-release geographical issue which forms part of the Paper 3 exam paper.

Sixth Form curriculum

In the Sixth Form, we follow the OCR Geography A Level course which provides a very good foundation for university. We begin in the Lower Sixth with Changing Places Making Spaces which is largely a study of urban environments and how humans interact with them. We then explore Contemporary issues of Human Rights. Pupils also study Coastal Landscapes and Earth’s Life Support Systems. Earth’s Life Support Systems focuses on the importance of the Carbon and Water Cycle in Global Systems. While in the Lower Sixth, the pupils take part in a four-day residential field trip, in order to prepare for their Non-Examined Assessment (NEA). This project is devised by themselves and can be based on any area of the Geography curriculum that interests them. Our most recent field trips have been to Slapton in Devon, where we have partnered with the Field Studies Centre to create a bespoke field trip, that ensures the girls are fully prepared for their NEA which is worth 20% of their A Level.

Upper Sixth pupils are given time to complete their NEA in class alongside lessons in Migration and Natural Hazards. The pupils also study the Geography of Health which looks at global patterns of disease and the issues presented by contagious and non-contagious diseases.

Geography enrichment

Fieldwork is an important part of Geography. The Geography Department has made sure that each year group has a chance to experience high quality fieldwork. GCSE pupils will visit Juniper Hall, a Field Studies Council Centre, in order to prepare for their fieldwork paper.

Our A Level pupils head to Slapton in Devon to investigate coastal erosion and urban regeneration as a key part of their studies.

As well as this academic fieldwork, our geographers also have the opportunity to travel to Iceland and the Azores as part of optional curriculum enhancement trips.

The Geography Department is very pleased that an increasing number of girls are choosing degree courses in geography and closely related disciplines each year.

Any further information you require about the teaching and learning of geography may be obtained by contacting the Head of Department, Mrs Nicola Price.

Meet the Geography Department

Nicola Price – Head of Department 

Nicola moved to Downe House in September 2020 and became Head of Geography in September 2024. Prior to working at Downe House she had been Head of Geography for eight years at an Outstanding Grammar school in the Cotswolds. As well as this, Nicola has worked in a Girl’s Grammar School in Wiltshire, a large Comprehensive School and Independent School both in Oxfordshire. She is an experienced GCSE and A Level Examiner for AQA and OCR.

Nicola became a teacher in 2005 after working in the Ministry of Defence for several years. As part of her role, she worked with Raleigh International in Namibia and this is where she discovered her true passion for teaching, making the decision to change careers whilst trekking across the Namib desert to the Atlantic Ocean! She attended Newcastle University and graduated with a BSc Hons in Geography, and then studied for her PGCE at the University of Oxford.

Nicola has two boys and as a family, they love to travel all over the world. She is particularly interested in sharing her love of different countries to pupils and encouraging them to help to be a World Changer!

Georgie Taylor

Georgie Taylor is the Assistant Head (Sixth Form) here at Downe House, but still enjoys teaching Geography at all levels. She started teaching at Concord College where she was Head of Year 9 and a Housemistress, before moving to Wycombe Abbey as Head of Geography and Housemistress.

She has been at Downe House since 2023 and has thoroughly enjoyed getting stuck into the Geography Department and accompanying the girls on residential field trips. She studied at Royal Holloway University of London, focusing on Human Geography with a particular interest in Geopolitics and Place.

She has led and accompanied trips all over the world and will never say no to an opportunity to explore Geography ‘in the field’. Her aim in lessons is to instil a real love for the subject and encourage wider reading and curiosity.

Alison Compton-Ilott

Alison joined Downe House in 2014 and during this time has worked within a range of departments across the school whilst teaching Geography. In 2022 Alison also took on the role of Head of UIV. Alison studied Geography (BSc) at University College London (UCL) and, after a few years in the city, took her PGCE at Goldsmiths, University of London. Alison grew up in Singapore and attended international schools Tanglin and UWC. Prior to teaching at Downe House, Alison spent a number of years teaching Geography in a London state school alongside a role as Head of More Able, Gifted and Talented. During this time Alison undertook her NPQML course with her school-based project focusing on increasing stretch and challenge within the classroom. Outside of school Alison enjoys spending time outdoors with her family who share her love of the mountains and the sea.

Nicola Patrick

Nicola arrived at Downe House in 2016 having spent the three previous years as Assistant Director of Studies and Head of Geography at a Prep School in Sussex. Prior to that, Nicola was in Oxfordshire for seven years where she taught Geography to A Level and was an Assistant Housemistress in a senior girls’ boarding house. She has been an external examiner for almost ten years, marking for AQA A Level, OCR GCSE and currently the AQA GCSE that we study here at Downe House. Keen for all things geographical, Nicola followed a BSc in Geography at Durham with a PGCE from Cambridge and a Masters in Geography Education from UCL. Physical Geography, in particular coasts and tectonic activity, are her favourite topics as she loves the outdoors. Consequently, Nicola likes to use the excuse of taking holidays to travel with her family so that they can all broaden their geographical knowledge; they finally made it to Yellowstone National Park last summer although her favourite destinations of recent years remain Bryce Canyon and Yosemite National Parks in the USA.

Ruth Kingston

Geography has always been Ruth’s greatest passion but when both her brothers did Geography degrees she decided to do a sports science degree at Loughborough to be different! However she then did a PGCE in PE and Geography. Ruth has a desire to understand the world around us, and that inspires her geography teaching. She has lived in 4 continents and enjoys being immersed in the different cultures.  Ruth have just passed the 100 mark for the number of countries she has visited, but she has a lot of the world left to discover! Ruth is also the Housemistress of AGS and they like to call themselves the environmental house, as they are developing their gardening, recycling and trying to be more sustainable.

Siobhan Clare

Siobhan attended Durham University and graduated in BSc Geography and MSc Risk where she chose to look specifically at both Human and Physical risks and the relationship with global populations. Siobhan previously worked at an independent girls boarding school in Buckinghamshire as a Resident Tutor in an Upper School House (ages 12-17) and is now the Assistant Housemistress in Hermitage as well as Teacher of Geography. She loves the range of topics we teach here at Downe and how the pupils are encouraged to explore the wider world through a number of different lenses. Her favourite topic to both learn about and teach is hazards but she loves teaching anything where Physical Geography meets the Human world.