"Geography is the subject which holds the key to our future" ~ Michael Palin

Imagine a world without rivers, without mountains, without the hills that we call home. A world without culture and diversity: a world where we exist only in our own four walls, trapped without the opportunity to travel. At Madresfield, Geographers are born. 

With a curriculum built upon map reading and observations, we allow our children to understand their place within our world. The value of the villages and towns we live in as well as the rich, diverse planet in which we exist.

Madresfield's map to proficient Geographers 

The first steps to becoming successful Geographers: 

• Make observations 
• Ask why and how questions
• Notice that change is part of our world 

I've started school, my world has already expanded beyond what I thought possible: new friends, new teachers, new surroundings. I feel so small, I am small, but I have the natural curiosity that makes me want to know what lies beyond my own home. I am aware what a map is, wow aren't we small! I am starting to learn about the wonders that lie across the oceans and I want to know more!

I can: 

• Begin to look more closely at things to make more detailed observations.
• Find out about features in the area in which I live
• Talk about features of my immediate environment.
• Talk about likes and dislikes of my immediate environment. 
• Understand about seasonal changes 
• Talk about how environments might differ from one another but can also be the same

In KS1, exploring is my childhood, my curiosity is powerful. I am desperate to know how others live and what more there is to see than I can reach by car. I have first-hand experience of much more now, my world is getting larger. I can recall and compare things that I have looked at with awe and wonder in my eye - I am desperate to see more. 

I can:  

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• name and locate the world’s 7 continents and 5 oceans
• name, locate and identify characteristics of the 4 countries and capital cities of the United Kingdom and its surrounding seas
• understand geographical similarities and differences through studying the human and physical geography
• identify seasonal and daily weather patterns
• use basic geographical vocabulary to refer to physical and human features
• use world maps, atlases and globes
• use simple compass directions (north, south, east and west) and locational and directional language
• use aerial photographs and plan perspectives to recognise landmarks
• use simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of my school and its grounds

KS2 - the older I get, the more I understand adults' desire to travel. My understanding of this planet  has grown beyond comprehension yet I have more questions than answers. The diversity of people fascinates me, the comparisons of my life to others and the landmarks that I see grandly standing behind TV screen - I want to see it for myself, I want to learn. 

I can: 

• locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America
• name and locate counties and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics and understand how some of these aspects have changed over time
• identify the position and significance of latitude, longitude, Equator, Northern Hemisphere, Southern Hemisphere, the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, Arctic and Antarctic Circle, the Prime/Greenwich Meridian and time zones
• understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography
• describe and understand key aspects of human and physical geography
• use maps, atlases, globes and digital/computer mapping to locate countries 
• use fieldwork to observe, measure record and present the human and physical features in the local area

Adventure continues, Year 7 awaits. More opportunities to travel, countries to explore, features to see. My passport is my ticket to see the world with my own eyes, therefore my journey to becoming a geographer is only just beginning.