400th Post

This is the 400th posting.
Don't forget to add a comment on the Exam paper posting below.

Gloucester Flooding

I thought this was interesting...
Watching the news first thing this morning, and they showed some houses in Gloucester which were flooded. Gloucester is on the River Severn, and the Severn is a river which floods quite frequently because of the area that it drains, and the nature of the floodplain.
They then showed some fields on the edge of town where almost 600 houses were due to be built - this was the LONGFORD site which was featured on the pilot map.
A large area of the fields they showed was underwater !
http://www.gloucester.gov.uk/DownloadFile.aspx?File=1402 - this is a link to a PDF showing the detailed application and some objections that were raised (I don't expect you to read this, but it might be interesting to some of my other readers...)
http://www.gloucester.gov.uk/DownloadFile.aspx?File=7213 - another interesting document

Not clear what happened in the end... Anyone in Gloucester know ?

So what comes next ?

The final few weeks of term will be spent preparing for the next phase of the course: the 2 pieces of the coursework which count for 50% of your final marks !
We will be focussing on the topics of:
Sustainable Transport and Cultural Geography

These are new departures for us in terms of some of the content, although we have loads of resources thanks to my extensive Geography connections !
We'll keep you posted !
More next week...

They think it's all over.... It is now....

So - that was the exam.
What I found interesting was the absence of the usual questions where candidates were asked to define the FUGIS terms.
We seemed to do quite well at spotting the possible questions - an interesting poster task on organic farming was a bit of a surprise: I hope that you didn't spend too long on it...
Please add a comment below to let me know what you thought about the exam, and if there was anything you thought you weren't really ready or prepared for ?

Exam tomorrow

Do a few last minute bits of revision tonight
Get a good night's sleep - don't stay up late
Don't forget to bring your equipment with you tomorrow
Set the alarm clock before you go to bed
Eat breakfast !

So don't forget: DGDSE....

One for the teachers...

If you are teaching about Sustainable Transport you might be interested in a new resource which was launched on 22nd June by an organisation called Foresight, which is linked to the Department for Trade and Industry, and the Office of Science and Innovation.The resource is called a CHANGE OF PLACE.
Click for an 18 page teacher guide on the project.
Also on the site is a series of resources:

• a range of task sheets in PDF format
• a selection of comic strip style activity tasks
• some supporting powerpoint presentations
• a board game to play
• a selection of images

Very good for looking at the future for cities. Would be useful for GCSE and also some of new AS planning.

Give me an F....

Futures
No looking at folders or cutting and pasting.
Write down the answer that you would put if you were in the exam right this minute.
Add it as a comment...

Give me a U....

Uneven Development
No looking at folders or cutting and pasting.
Write down the answer that you would put if you were in the exam right this minute.
Add it as a comment...

Give me a G....

Globalisation
No looking at folders or cutting and pasting.
Write down the answer that you would put if you were in the exam right this minute.
Add it as a comment...

Give me an I....

Interdependence
No looking at folders or cutting and pasting.
Write down the answer that you would put if you were in the exam right this minute.
Add it as a comment...

Give me an S....

Sustainability
No looking at folders or cutting and pasting.
Write down the answer that you would put if you were in the exam right this minute.
Add it as a comment...

Final Weekend

Remember that you have a very important 90 minutes on Thursday.
Add a comment below to let me know that you have read this post, and that you are ready !
And if not, what questions do you still have about the exam ???
It's going to rain tomorrow, so STAY IN AND REVISE


And following the 5 posts above...
Put them together and what have you got ?
No peeking now....





FUGIS


There are 5 key concepts in the Pilot GCSE, and they spell out the word FUGIS. All students need to be aware of these concepts, and they have a copy in their exercise books and we keep referring to the specific ones which relate to the work that we are doing.

Final classroom lesson before exam....

Today we discussed issues relating to the questions below:

Using the Data

Resource 14

1. Look at the aims of the fieldwork. What do you think about the questions that the students asked ?

2. Do you think Friday morning in October is a good time to carry out the fieldwork (remember issue of sampling) ? Explain your answer

3. What were

a) the smallest age group sampled

b) the largest age group sampled

4. How would you ensure that the sampling was better / fairer than the method used by the students ?

5. What are the main differences between the arguments given for building at:

a) the docks

b) Longford

Resource 15

1. Read the comments made by the Gloucester residents

2. Try to summarise the type of person who prefers

a) the docks area

b) the Longford area as a place to live

3. Overall, do you think the views expressed are in favour of the docks or the Longford development ?

Resource 16

Organic Farming

1. Summarise the main differences between organic and non-organic food

2. What are the suggested benefits for the consumer ?

3. Why might organic farming be more SUSTAINABLE than non-organic ?

4. What do you think might happen to the demand for organic food in the FUTURE ?

What problems face British farmers given the changing nature of the population ?

Organic Food

This is a focus for the later part of the exam paper.

Tony Cassidy has added a section on Organic Food, and a link to a useful WORD document which you will get a copy of next lesson (cheers Tony !)

On a related matter, thinking about sourcing local ingredients etc. I came across the EDIBLE site today.
It features a range of 'interesting' foodstuffs which you might like to try (or not...)
I particularly like the Monkey Picked Tea (check it out) and the Giant Hornet Honey...

A local(ish) food I like a lot are PIPER's CRISPS.
Read their website.
What do they say about their produce ?

Exam: June 28th

9.00 start (be at Sports Hall for 8.45)
Sports Hall is the venue for the exam
Paper 1: Foundation
Paper 2: Higher
Check the seating plan when you get there
Bring pen(s), pencil(s), ruler, crayons, calculator etc.
Use ALL the time !
Read the instructions on the front of the exam paper carefully !
I don't want to see anybody sat there doing nothing - you work until the time is up - check and check again ! This is your ONE chance of getting the marks, and you all need to get as many as possible !
Good luck

It's Matt, and he's dancing...

Dancing Matt

Posted Aug 16, 2005

Matt Harding quit his job so he could journey around the world and dance on every continent.

Skips near King's Lynn by UEDan

03062007091, originally uploaded by UEDan.

Testing Flickr upload tool...

Our Place: Captain George Vancouver

This week is the Captain Vancouver Festival.
As some of you may know, a tall ship called the Earl of Pembroke sailed up the Great Ouse yesterday and a crowd of thousands was there to see it.
Captain Vancouver's statue stands outside the Customs House.
This week sees the start of a Vancouver Festival.
Here's the blurb from the website:

The Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk is proud to be celebrating the 250th birthday of Captain George Vancouver with a weeklong programme of festivities. There will be events for all ages to enjoy.

Captain George Vancouver was born in King's Lynn in 1757 and sailed with Captain Cook as a young midshipman. His later explorations and meticulous survey literally put onto the map of the world the intricacies of the North West coast of mainland Canada, an achievement that places him in the first rank of marine surveyors.

During the week beginning 18th June, we will be running a programme of events aimed specifically at schools and made appropriate to the national curriculum. The programme will be run in partnership with King's Lynn Arts Centre, True's Yard, Green Quay and the King's Lynn museum.

Over the festival weekend, King's Lynn will be buzzing with music, dancing, interactive historical drama, a people's banquet, street entertainment, exhibitions, maritime crafts, traditional seafood and much more. Come and see the magnificent tall ship, The Earl of Pembroke, she will sail up-river to the Boal Quay where she will moor for the festival weekend.

A spectacular weekend for all the family to enjoy, staged within the heart of King's Lynn's fabulous historic buildings and quayside.


Here's a pic of the ship by FLICKR user Daisy Flame

Keep an eye out for events...

A week today....

The exam is a week today...
Remember to work through the questions, but also to make sure that you really appreciate the links to FUGIS.
Each topic is labelled and the labels can be seen down the right hand side of the screen.
Revise smart !
I have told all staff that you have GCSE exam next week, so if you are given a homework for another subject that is not as 'important' (for the next week only of course....) please explain the circumstances...

10 days to go to the exam !

Remember this is the ACTUAL exam!
You should have spent a few minutes per day for the last 3 weeks getting familiar with the contents of the pre-release booklet...

End of Work Experience

By the time you're reading this, work experience will be over !
I hope you had a good time, and learned something. Perhaps you got to use your Geography at some point.
It's important that your attention now turns to the Pilot exam, which is in just under 2 weeks time. We have 3 lessons where we will concentrate on the final sections, and then it is over to you !
Read back through the recent postings and make sure that you are familiar with the contents of the booklet...

Another day, and no more comments....

You need to add comments to the posts you've read and answered the questions, so that I can convince myself that you are making progress on your revision.

Preparation continuing ?

I hope so...

Hope you're enjoying your Work Experience placement and have not been sacked yet...

Remember to check the previous posts and work through the checklist at the back of the booklet.
We will only have 3 lessons when you come back...

Fourth day of Work Experience

OK, so you're on Day 4...
Have you been checking the blog every day ?
You should probably be up to around Question 15 by now...

Answers on a postcard...

Send us a postcard...
To raise the profile of Geography and also have a bit of fun and interactivity, this summer the KS3 pupils (plus Year 10) and also the Year 6's who will be coming in on a taster day, will be asked to send us a postcard from their summer travels..
Anyone sending a postcard will have their names entered into a prize draw (to be drawn in the year assemblies) to win a Geo Goody Bag...
Also doing a Staff competition too for the most amusing card.
All cards will then be put on a large world map display in the geography area, and we will also use the places visited as the basis for a piece of mapwork in the first term, and perhaps an assessment as well.

First day of Work Experience

Hope it goes well for you today.
When you get home...
Review Questions 1 to 5 from the Pre Release booklet, turn to the back page and make sure you know definitions of FUGIS, and then tick off the check list so that you know you've done those...

And don't forget WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY tomorrow.

Posts ? and Google Earth...

OK, so we've had just 3 posts in the last week! 2 from Aaron and 1 from Vicki...
Where are the rest of you ?
Remember that when you return from Work Experience we will have just 3 lessons remaining before the exam, and these SHOULD be spent reviewing your preparation and getting you as prepared as we can be!

Get posting !

A bit of good news is that GOOGLE EARTH has FINALLY !!! been updated for the UK with some high resolution images of most of Norfolk.
For example, here is the image of KES taken from around 2000 feet up.

Why not visit KES yourself (PE30 2QB) and post the answers to the following questions:

1) How recent do you think the images are ?
2) What is missing from the local area around KES shown on the Google Earth images ?
3) What time of day / year do you think the pictures were taken ? (Clue: school car park, amount of traffic on roads...)

Where is this ?

Screenshot from another YouTube find...Where is this location ?
KES students add a comment with the answer....

John Betjeman

John Betjeman is a famous poet, who also had a love of trains.
Just watched via YouTube this black and white documentary of him taking the train from King's Lynn to Hunstanton via Wolferton and Snettisham.
Interesting to see how "our place" has changed over the years.