Geography is all about the world in which we live and on which we depend. Landscapes, peoples, places and the fragile environment are all interwoven. Learning through Geography is a magnificent way of fostering environmental responsibility, sustainable development and cultural awareness.' (Royal Geographical Society)

In the Geography Department at JAGS our aim is to ensure that these principles are inherent in all the topics we cover. For example, Year 7 begin the year with a study of the cultural diversity of London. Year 8 investigate sustainable developments of the tropical rainforests during the Autumn Term and during the Spring Term Year 9 review the changing role of women in today's global society.

The Department is very well resourced. We have an extensive collection of up to date DVDs, textbooks, maps, photographs and reference books, and ICT is a fundamental part of Geography teaching at JAGS. All girls gain experience of Geographical Information Systems (GIS). They are also encouraged to apply their research and presentation skills when undertaking individual investigations.

Fieldwork is an integral part of the teaching at JAGS. All year groups undertake fieldwork. At Key Stage 3 the Year 7s map photographs of the school grounds, Year 8 visit Kew Gardens to develop their understanding of global ecosystems and Year 9 enjoy a day at the Natural History Museum to study earth processes. The GCSE Geographers visit the London Docklands and the East Sussex coast. The 6th formers have a day in London (Sutcliffe Park, the Thames Barrier and Brick Lane), a site visit to the Olympics and a 5 day residential field trip to the Gower, Wales which we teach ourselves.

We are also committed to taking the girls further a-field for trips to enhance their geographical knowledge and understanding. In June 2009 we took our first cross-curricular foreign trip, with the French department, and visited the Opal Coast for 4 days with the whole of Year 7. It was a very successful trip and is now an annual event. Optional trips for GCSE and A level Geographers have also been highly successful. During Easter 2007 we took 43 Geographers to Iceland, in October 2008 a keen group of A Level Geographers visited Morocco for 8 days and we are excited about our next visit to Iceland with 49 Year 11 and A level Geographers in October 2010.

Please visit the Fieldwork section of our website for further details about individual trips.

As school members of the Royal Geographical Society we encourage 6th Form Geographers to attend lectures and conferences, to enrich their understanding of today's global issues and expand their geographical thinking beyond the curriculum. These go hand in hand with our own JAGS Geography Society, which the girls run themselves.

So far this year the girls have experienced a very active programme. On October 9 2009, a keen group of 6th form Geographers attended a fascinating lecture on ‘Global Health', which was of particular interest to those hoping to study Medicine at University. Secondly, on October 14 2009, the girls attended one of the RGS' ‘21st Challenges’ series of lectures; ‘Importing goods, exporting drought', led by a panel of experts chaired by George Alagiah. We also attended an informative lecture at Latymer Upper School, Hammersmith, titled ‘Slum dogs, but few millionaires: what else can we learn from slums?’.

We also welcome visiting speakers to JAGS. This year Dr Geraldene Wharton from Queen Mary University, London has spoken about river restoration on the River Quaggy and Jeannie Lawson, Chair of the charity 'Homestart', Southwark, gave a lecture about health problems, notably obesity, and policies in Southwark.