Wednesday, 18 July 2012

2011 UK census - results published yesterday

Every 10 years the country undertakes the Census, where each household is expected to return a form detailing who lives in the house and information about them. This information is the used to inform us about the country, how it is changing and what we all need to help the run successfully. Because there are so many census forms and so much data to collect, it takes a long time for the information to be processed and published, but yesterday saw the release of the 2011 census information. It has told us a lot about the changes that have taken place over the last 10 years since the 2001 census. This link  will take you to an interesting article about some of those changes, but here are some facts taken from the published results:

1. The population has risen to 56.1 million, an increase of 7.6% over the past 10 years
2. 1 in 6 people are aged 65 or over. This is a figure that is increasing quickly and is clear evidence of an ageing population
3. There are half a million more women than men in the country - this could be because women live longer or just that women are better at filling n forms than men.
4. The average number of people per house is 2.4 (this compares to 4.3 in 1911)
5. Manchester was one of the fastest growing places in the country and now has 500,000 people living there. The authorities there are pleased about this as it means more funds and they thought they didn't have enough people in the last census.
6. The average age of a person in Britain is 39 (in 1911 the figure was 25, showing just how much longer we are living now)
7. In 1911 there were 13,000 people aged 90+ in Britain, in 2001 this figure had risen to 340,000 and now, in 2011 it has shot up to 430,000
8. London is easily the most crowded part of the country, with 5200 people per square kilometre. The rest of the country averages out at 321 people per sq.km.

Saturday, 14 July 2012

GCSE Geography to change

The GCSE Geography course will change from what has been advertised for the current Year 9 who opted to study it.

Main changes are:
1. There is now only one piece of controlled assessment which has a word count limit of 2000 words. You will have between 16-18 hours to get this work completed and it will be worth 25% of you final grade. This work is based on a fieldtrip.

2. There will be no pre release booklet for the decision making exam.

Sunday, 8 July 2012

Hazards being seen all over the world

Natural Hazards are always occurring. Most of them we never we hear about, earthquakes that are too minor to report, storms that don't quite make it hurricane status. This week has seen some serious incidents around the world.

1. The UK
Heavy rain has been seen all over the UK. Localised flooding has been experienced in many areas, causing disruption to traffic and people. Over a months worth of rain has fallen in 24 hours in some places. Devon has been worst hit. One man died after his car came off the wet road. Events such as motor car racing and music concerts have been cancelled (including the Godiva festival in Coventry)
Click here to read more about English floods

2. Russia
If you think our rain has been bad, they've had much worse in Russia. In one area at least 155 people have been killed after they experienced 5 times more rain than normal and severe floods occurred.
Click here to read more about Russian floods

3. India
In NE India, over 120 people have been confirmed killed after heavy Monsoon rains flooded towns and approximately 2000 villages. 2.2 million people have been displaced (made homeless).Hundreds of animals have also been killed.
Click here to read more about India floods

4. USA
It's not rain that is the problem (yet) in America, but the heat. A heat wave has killed 42 people across the East of the country. The temperatures should drop by Monday (9th July) but there could be thunderstorms and floods afterwards.
Click here to read more about USA heatwave

So, as we wonder if we're ever going to have some sun and a summer, be grateful were not experiencing the loss of life that some parts of the world, rich and poor, are experiencing.


AS level Cornwall Fieldtrip, March 2009

Rebranding Cornwall - Year 12 fieldtrip

Year 10 trip to Swanage, Dorset (June 2010)

What's your travel IQ?


This Traveler IQ challenge compares your geographical knowledge against the Web's First Travel Blog's other 4,605,907 travelers who have taken this challenge as of Saturday, October 03, 2009 at 07:25PM GMT. (TravelPod is a member of the TripAdvisor Media Network) 

Hurricane Katrina, August 2005

Listen to an interview with the designer of the floating house.

What is Sustainable development?


Eco Schools!

You may or may not be aware that the government would like all schools to be sustainable by the year 2020 (see the video on sustainability above. There is another video below about practical things we can do to reduce climate change)

You can find out being sustainble means for schools by clicking on this link.

So....what is a sustainable school?

A sustainable school prepares young people for a lifetime of sustainable living, through its teaching and its day-to-day practices. It is guided by a commitment to care:

• For ourselves (out health and well-being)
• For others (across cultures, distances and generations) and
• For the planet (both locally and globally

A Sustainable School puts a high value on the well-being of its pupils and the school environment. We aim to:

• Waste little and recycle, compost or donate anything surplus
• Support local suppliers where possible
• Perhaps collect rainwater for schools ground maintenance and
• Have a zero tolerance approach to litter, graffiti and bullying.
• Save electricity and gas
• Reduce water waste.
• Look at using renewable energy resources.

If making sure the school is sustainable and doing the best it can for the environment is something that interests you then you should join the school eco team. Speak to Mrs Whewell or Mrs Pointon (go to main reception to ask for them) or go to the next meeting of the Eco group

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