Year 12 - Cornwall trip

The details for the trip are as follows:

You must be at school on Monday 19th March at 7.45am - yes, that's early but it is a long journey to Cornwall, as you will know, Cornwall suffers from it's isolation. Journey times are long!

You will be provided with dinner on each night whilst away and from Tuesday morning onwards you will also get breakfast. However, you will not be provided with lunch so need to bring enough money to buy something whilst we are out.

The sort of things you could bring are:
Waterproofs (if jeans get wet they are uncomfortable)
Walking boots and wellies may be useful for beaches
Layers of clothing (it is easier to take off layers of clothing if you get hot or add layers if you get cold) and things to keep you warm (the coast can get windy and cold)
Towel
Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant and so on)
Pens, pencils etc


Useful items could include a camera -but you must be aware that the school takes o responsibility for any items that you bring along.

I would hope that we will be back between4-5pm on the Friday, but this is subject to change and you will need to ring parents on the journey back to give them a clearer idea of arrival time.

If you have any questions about the trip you should ask your teacher or email Mr Bains on H.Bains@ksnadmin.ksn.org.uk

Earth Day - April 22nd 2012

Year 13 homework for Mr Bains (27th Jan 2012): ENERGY SECURITY - the Alberta Tar Sands

Year 13 - Energy security
Your homework is to carry on looking at the Alberta Tar Sands project. You must be confident in saying why some people are for it and why others are against it, looking at social, economic and environmental issues. The following articles and videos will help you do this. 


You should make notes on what you see (and/or add to the cost-benefit table we did in class).


A potential exam question is:
"Examine the costs and benefits of countries and TNCs exploiting energy resources in technically difficult and environmentally sensitive areas" 


National Geographic article on Canadian Tar Sands


Tar Sands Watch - a protest group website


Greenpeace campaign on the Tar Sands


Government of Alberta justify the exploitation of reserves


Nov 2011 article from The Guardian saying why the project is unwise

Two years since the Haiti earthquake

Two years have passed since a ferocious earthquake levelled much of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, and killed about 250,000 people. It was one of the worst natural disasters of recent times, striking one of the poorest nations. There is still lots of work to do in Haiti (60,000 people still live in tents) and it is worth reading some reports that show how difficult it is for poor countries to recover after such devastating disasters, even with the assistance of foreign help.


Click on the title to read one report about the earthquake


Click here to read a different article


Click here to read a blog from UNICEF about the earthquake

SDME exam: 60min podcast for students

As the Year 11s prepare for the SDME exam on the 24th Jan, some of you may find it useful to listen to this podcast, where Mark Howell, a teacher from a school in Northamptonshire, goes through the pre-release booklet and explains sources and gives advice on how to answer questions. Because it's a podcast, you can download it and listen to it whenever you get a spare moment, in small chunks. Click on the title and you'll be taken to the podcast on iTunes. If you do decide to listen to it or download it, leave a comment for the producer, maybe thanking him for the effort!

Philippines Flood Death Toll Nears 1,000

2011 ends with yet another natural disaster. This one has claimed the lives of 1000 people in the Philippines. The flooding was caused by tropical storm Washi, which swept through the southern Philippines on Friday evening, dropping a month's worth of rain in 24 hours. About 143,000 people were affected in 13 southern and central states.

Conditions remain chaotic at the evacuation centres, mainly schools and gymnasiums, and with no running water fire trucks were being used to deliver supplies. Officials warned that the crowded conditions could lead to outbreaks of leptospirosis, diarrhoea, cholera, hepatitis A, typhoid fever, and dysentery, with children and pregnant women the most vulnerable. 

"The problem is we only have one or two toilets per school, and they have to cater to 3 000 or 4 000 users," said Iligan health officer Levy Villarin.

Click on the headline to read more on the story or click here to be taken to the recent Channel 4 documentary "The Year the Earth went wild"

Year 13 Unit 4 Pre-release, 2012

The pre-release EXPLORE and FOCUS themes are now available on the Edexcel website. Remember, the explore idea is about the theme that you should now focus on and the research is more about the examples and case studies that you need to find.

Click the heading to be taken there, although this the information relevant to us......


OPTION 2: Cold Environments – Landscapes and Change
• Explore the processes which shaped the landscape during the Pleistocene within a
region such as the British Isles.
• Research the wide variety of landscapes and landforms created at differing scales by
glacial and periglacial processes within a chosen region.

OPTION 3: Life on the Margins – the Food Supply Problem
• Explore the need for, and effectiveness of, different strategies that are designed to
improve food security.
• Research a range of food security strategies, including ‘sustainable’ ones, at differing
scales and locations.


OPTION 5: Pollution and Human Health at Risk
• Explore the relative health risks from incidental and sustained pollution, and how and
why these vary both spatially and over time.
• Research locations at varying scales and levels of development, that have experienced
or are experiencing health risks from different types of pollution

Kenilworth Geography department on Twitter

There are now two twitter accounts - one aimed at Year 12 students http://twitter.com/#!/KenilworthGeo12
and one aimed at Year 13 students http://twitter.com/#!/KenilworthGeo13

Make sure you start following for the latest news that relates to the course, exam information and general updates.