The Geography Department excelled themselves again at the Y6 Open Day in September. Visiting Y6 students and their parents thoroughly enjoyed the activities which had been arranged for them. Many thanks to students who gave up their Saturday to participate!

Our 2010-2011 End of Year Newsletter can be downloaded as a pdf by clicking on the file in the margin.

Holy Family Year 6 Transition Day

As part of the transition process, pupils from Holy Family Primary School visited St Mary's Geography Department for the day to study volcanoes. Pupils had a presentation on how volcanoes were formed.

This was followed by work which included making a model volcano, producing a BBC news story about a volcanic eruption and then exploding their volcanoes at the end of the day.
More pictures may be viewed on Screen 3 of the Gallery. 





Chief Examiner Visit
On Wednesday 13th April the Geography Chief Examiner from AQA was in school to work with AS and A2 students. The work he did was aimed at improving exam technique and boosting attainment in the summer examinations.


Iceland Field Trip

6th Form Geography Students spent their February Half Term in Iceland on a field trip studying Glaciation and Volcanoes. Their travels took them to Rekyavik, Gulfoss, Thingvellir National Park, the Great Geysir, the Blue Lagoon and Skogarfoss amongst others. See Geography Trips page and gallery for images

Y8 Colomendy Visit

Year 8 students recently visited Colomendy in North Wales for a weekend of Adventure and Team Building. Activities included caving, fencing, an assault course, a team challenge and climbing. See Geography Trips page and gallery for images.

Year 10 Field Trip

Year 10 Students recently visited Liverpool on a Controlled Assessment Trip to look at the regeneration of Liverpool and to investigate whether Liverpool One is an example of sustainability in the 21st Century. Their visit also took in the Albert Dock, the Liverpool Wheel and the Mersey Ferry.See Geography Trips page and gallery for images


Y11 Controlled Assessment Field Trip to Liverpool and Wallasey

Year 11 Students recently visited Liverpool and Wallasey to study Urbanisation and Tourism as part of their Geography Assessment. They visited the Maritime Museum and the area around Albert Docks, crossed the Mersey by ferry and looked at the tourist provision in Wallasey. See Geography Trips page and gallery for images


Geography Competition Winners 
The following students were selected from entries from Years 7-9 from the Geography in the News Competition.

Y7- Daniel Berrisford (volcano model) 

Y7- Hannah Charnock 7W (model of the Chilean miners)

Y8- Georgina Raynor (Newspaper article on the Pakistan floods)

Y9- Amy Bakkes (Volcano model of Mt Merapi)

Y9- Rebecca Ellis (fairtrade project)

The students were presented by a certificate from Mrs Firth and a £10 Argos voucher to recognise their hard work and achievement.

St Mary's Does the Trade Game

Year 9 students recently joined forces to play The Trade Game. Groups of students represented different countries and each group was tasked with trading for resources to create a football. The game gave students insights into the difficulties faced by emerging nations compared with those countries who are already financially secure. It developed useful negotiating skills and tactical and innovative thinking in a bid to acquire the resources needed to complete the task.

Attached is a description by one of the students who took part in the game.


Y12 Field Trip

Y12 Geography students recently went on a River Study Field Trip to Wales. In spite of the inclement weather, students developed new skills using a variety of equipment to measure and record river flow. See Trips section or gallery for more images