The Edinburgh Academy

Stimulating

Geography at any level at The Edinburgh Academy is taught in an attempt to stimulate student interest in the subject, to develop a sense of place, an appreciation of the environment and to help students act in an informed and responsible way.

The subject is compulsory for the Geits and Second year pupils but is offered as an option for the Third years.  Geography is a popular choice at The Academy at GCSE and post GCSE. We follow the Midlands Examining Board at GCSE and then the Higher syllabus (SQA) in the first year of the sixth form, with the option of A level in the following year.

New developments

Recent refurbishment has allowed the Geography Department to move itself to the very front of teaching developments across the country. We have always tried in Geography to make our teaching stimulating through the use of a variety of audio-visual resources. Over the years we have built up quite a collection of slide sets, videos and photographs. Advancing technology, however, means that all of these resources are now available in much more flexible electronic ways, and all at the press of a button. We now have data projectors, inter-active whiteboards, DVD/VCR players and a wireless weather station all linked together and immediately accessible. The end result is seamless movement between these different sources of information.

The old and the new

With these developments and instant access to the Internet within lessons, pupils are enjoying a much more coherent and varied learning experience. It also introduces them to the sort of environment they can expect at university and equips them with the types of skills they may be expected to use in the wider world of work.

Geography has always been about interpreting information from a variety of sources to try and make sense of what we see around us. None of that has changed, but within the Geography Department at the Academy it now happens electronically, and a lot faster!

Fieldwork

Fieldwork is an important part of any geographical education and we try where appropriate to involve pupils in practical tasks. The Seconds have a full field day studying physical geography and the Thirds look at urban change in the Leith and Newhaven areas of Edinburgh.

We have a firm commitment to fieldwork and make good use of the local environment and the school's outdoor studies centre Blair House. Blair House is the School’s Field Studies Centre. It is situated at the head of Glen Clova, north-west of Kirriemuir, about two hours driving time from Edinburgh. The area is a nature reserve and designated national scenic area. Sixths and Sevenths do studies of the river and the nearby corrie, Corrie Fee.