Geography
At The Fern Academy, we believe that a rounded understanding of the world in which we live is vital if our children are to make informed decisions as they grow up. We want all children to appreciate similarities and differences between different areas of our country, our continent and our planet, and begin to understand the effect that these have on everyday lives in these places. They will be taught about key features of physical geography, including rivers, mountains, rainforests, volcanoes and climate, learning both the processes behind them and the impact that they have on human environments.
We also believe that locational knowledge - the ability to use and identify places on maps and globes - is crucial. All children should leave our school knowing where they live and where that is situated in the world. They will be able to name and locate the seven continents and five oceans, as well as some of the countries and regions that they have studied (such as the Andes and Rocky Mountain ranges, the Caribbean, Amazon rainforest and Kenya to name a few).
Finally, children will learn to behave and think like geographers, collecting information through fieldwork, data analysis, first– and second-hand accounts and map study. Our pupils are encouraged to complete fieldwork investigations within their local area on a regular basis. Furthermore, our pupils will recognise the strengths and weaknesses of different sources of information, and use this to inform their own conclusions and decision making - both at school and in the wider world beyond.
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On Tuesday 24th March, all the children across the school took part in an Easter egg hunt, putting their geography skills to the test. Each class was given a map to follow to help find the hidden eggs. The younger pupils used an aerial map of the school grounds to help locate the eggs. The older pupils used an ordnance survey map focusing on map symbols and coordinates. We had lots of fun in the spring sunshine, and the adults were blown away by how supportive of one another they were, all whilst using their mapping skills.
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On Tuesday 23rd June, the pupils took part in a geography day linked to the men's football world cup. The pupils were set a challenge to research a country taking part in the world cup and create a poster showing all the facts that they have learnt about that country. Nursery pupils looked at lots of different flags and drew the England flag on the school playground. The children were all very excited to see their chosen countries taking part in the world cup.
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On Tuesday 16th June, Year 3 and 4 went on a geography walk around the local area to explore what was just beyond our school. Whilst on our walk through Wellington village, the children identified a range of human and physical features such as the church, post office, ford and brook. We are so lucky our school is in such a beautiful area.
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Walks Near Wellington Primary & Nursery
