In Year 7 and Year 8 practical field work involves a Map Skills orienteering exercise in Knole Park, a settlement study of Dorking, a microclimate study on Box Hill, and a study of human management of a local fluvial environment. There is a guest speaker presentation during the study of 'Antarctica.'

In Year 9 fieldwork involves a trip to the East Sussex Coast to study coastal processes and management and sand dune ecosystems. Some pupils may have the opportunity to visit the London Olympic Site. We have guest speakers on the topics of 'London Olympics 2012' and 'Changing China' and we hope to introduce a link project with a secondary school in China.

During Year 10 and Year 11 of the IGCSE course, there are three one-day ‘local’ field trips and one six-day residential fieldtrip to Iceland. The focus is on data collection, data presentation and analysis and geographical awe and wonder:

• An urban study of a local town;
• An investigation of the river Darent focusing on measuring river characteristics;
• A microclimate study in and around Knole Park;
• A six-day optional Geography expedition to Iceland, in the first week of the summer holidays at the end of Year 10. The emphasis will be on exploring and learning about geographical features in the field and fostering a real sense of geographical awe and wonder. Activities will include climbing an extinct volcano on the island of Heimaey, a glacier trek, visiting geysers and waterfalls, studying fluvial and coastal processes and landforms, snorkelling between the plates at the mid ocean ridge, touring a geothermal Power station, lava caving and swimming in natural hot springs.

The Department also runs an internal ‘Geographical Quiz’ to select a team to represent the school in the regional World Wise Quiz run by the Geographical Association (GA).

At IB level, several one-day field trips are carried out during term time throughout the duration of the course: to London to study urban change and ethnicity issues and to the South Coast to investigate coastal processes, landforms and management. In addition there is a fantastic ten-day optional Geography expedition to Morocco during the first half of the Easter holidays of the Lower Sixth. Students visit three contrasting environments, the dynamic city of Marrakech, the spectacular High Atlas Mountains and the wonders of the Saharan desert. The trip is directly linked to the IB themes of Patterns and Change, Extreme Environments and Urban environments and some students have based their Extended Essays on work carried out whilst in Morocco.

The Geography Department is also keen to help our students bridge the gap between school and university study. The extension programme known as G.I.M.P (Geography Is My Passion) begins in the second half of the Easter term of the Lower Sixth year and runs until the end of the first half of the Michaelmas term of the Upper Sixth year. It is specifically geared towards helping students to develop their wider understanding of the subject in preparation for university interviews and written work for submission. We cover a wide range of geographical topics with a special focus on critical awareness of Geography and career opportunities. A variety of guest speakers are incorporated into the programme, including distinguished academics and former students currently studying Geography at university.