Welcome to the Magherafelt High School Geography department homepage.

Aims of the Geography Department

The aim of this Department is to provide a broad and balanced geographical education and to stimulate interest within and beyond the classroom.  Pupils should acquire skills in geographical enquiry, develop an ability to understand geographical issues and be able to communicate their understanding in various forms. It is hoped that the study of Geography in the school will promote:-

• a sense of enjoyment
• an understanding of the pupil's immediate environment, the country within which they live and the location of  their country within a global context
• to develop a positive attitude towards themselves, others around them with different cultural/ethnic base
• to develop a caring attitude with regard to their environment, both at a local and global level.

Courses Offered

At Key Stage 3 pupils get opportunities to learn mapping skills in Year 8 and these are developed throughout the topics studied each year. Components of both the Physical and Human environment are studied including Settlement, Landforms, Work, Weather and Climate, Hazards, Rocks, Global Issues, Development, Farming, Coasts, Globalisation, Population and Ecosystems.
At GCSE pupils follow the CCEA syllabus that covers 6 themes, dealing with topics on a local, national and international scale.  The 6 themes are Atmosphere and Human Impact, Physical Processes and Challenges, Ecosystems and Sustainability, Population and Resources, Economic Change and Development and Settlements and Change. 
At A Level pupils follow the CCEA syllabus and the aim of this course is to develop further their knowledge of both Physical and Human Environments and learn to inter-relate these complex issues.  Students are encouraged to investigate how decisions are made about the use and management of resources and environments, and to understand the significance and effect of peoples’ values and attitudes in geographical issues.

Additional Information

Opportunities exist for field investigations at all Key Stages. In Year 8 pupils carry out a local weather study; Year 9 pupils visit Tyrone Crystal and Tayto factories; Year 10 pupils carry out fieldwork tasks at Peatlands Park near Dungannon. 
At GCSE pupils will be investigating the various factors that make Slieve Gallion (a peak within the Sperrins) a special environment and they also spend a day at the Marble Arch Caves in Co. Fermanagh. The pupils who study Geography at A Level spend one day at Magilligan Field Centre carrying out fieldwork for Module 3.
As the pace of technological change alters the quality and shape of our environment, at all levels so it becomes ever important for pupils to understand these changes and predict possible outcomes.  Geography is one subject at the forefront of this quest.