Subjects » Geography

The overall philosophy of the Geography Department is that the environment in which we live exists in a delicate state of equilibrium between numerous conflicting and harmonious elements and that students should attain an awareness and understanding of this, their fragile world.

IGCSE Geography is concerned to promote an understanding of the nature of the earth and its environs.In particular, the character of places, the complex nature of people\'s relationships and interactions with their environment and the importance in human affairs of location and the spatial organisation of human activities.

Geographical education may be seen in terms of knowledge,understanding,skills,decision making and values.

The term "values" indicates that important topics in Geography have obvious social and political dimensions and cannot properly be understood without taking account of the attitudes and values of those involved.Geography can help all students make sense of their physical and human surroundings and extend their knowledge and understanding to more distant places.It inculcates a sense of responsibility in decision making, following from the understanding that the decision making process is a complex one and that all decisions have consequences.Furthermore,it will provide a perspective in which they can place local,national and international events and enable them to function more effectively as individuals and members of society.

To understand the subject adequately and to engage in geographical activities requires the development of a wide range of skills.Many of those skills are best developed through practical work and fieldwork.

The IGCSE course is divided into three themes,these being:

1. Population and Settlement
2. Population growth;over-population; migration; birth and death rates ( including the impact of HIV/AIDS); population structure.
3. Settlement hierarchies; functions of settlements; spheres of influence; urban land use; problems of urbanization; environmental impacts of urbanization.

The Natural Environment

1. Plate tectonics: earthquake & volcanic activity.
2. Weathering; river & marine processes; landforms.
3. Measurement of weather, climate & natural vegetation of tropical rain forests & tropical deserts.
4. Inter-relationship of man and the natural environment.

Economics Development and the Use of Resources

1. Agricultural inputs, processes & outputs; commercial & subsistence farming;
2. Vauses & effects of food shortages.
3. Primary, secondary & tertiary industries; inputs, processes & outputs; high-tech industries.
4. Growth of leisure & tourism.
5. Energy & water resources; renewable & non-renewable fuels; location of power stations; water shortages.
6. Soil erosion; global warming; pollution;sustainable development;conservation & environmental management.
7. The mapwork component of the course will have been studied during the foundation years (Forms 1-3).
8. In addition,fieldwork is an integral part of the course.Students are required to complete two coursework assignments as part of their final examination and these are both fieldwork based: a river study along the Groot Marico River and an urban study in Mafikeng.

Is Geography a good choice in terms of getting a job?

The skills you use in your geographical studies make you of potential interest to a wide range of employers. The close link between the subject and the world around us makes for a long and varied list of related careers, for example working with development or aid agencies, environmental work, using Geographical Information Systems, working for the census office and in tourism and recreation.However, most of these areas involve only one part of the broad subject of Geography.

Statistics show that compared with other subjects,Geographers are among the most employable.Many of those leaving university with a Geography degree, enter three fields of employment: administration and management; marketing or financial work.This is presumably because Geographers possess the abilities and skills that employers look for.