Revision Help

To all Year 11, Year 12 and Year 13 pupils who are revising hard for their Geography exams.
If you require any help with the the revision over the holidays please leave me a question using the comment facility below and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Remember to use this time wisely. It is not long now until your examinations begin.
Good Luck

GCSE Examination Dates 2009
Paper One - Tuesday 2nd June
Paper Two - Tuesday 9th June

AS Examination Dates 2009
G1 and G2 - Tuesday 19th May

A2 Examination Dates 2009
GG4 - Friday 5th June
GG5 - Thursday 18th June

For the GCSE Geographers out there here is a very useful page that outlines key geography revision with lots of downloadable help sheets. Take a look - it will be worth it and here is a really useful page to practice exam skills; including some downloadable quick advice sheets on mapwork, using photographs, using graphs and tables etc. Have a look and practice using the questions and markschemes provided. Good luck!

Global Spread of Swine Flu

The global swine flu death toll reached 100 with one new fatality reported in the United States and four more in Mexico, the two countries where the first outbreaks were reported. Prior to the latest North American deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) had reported the global toll at 95, with 13,398 people in 48 countries infected with the A(H1N1) virus since it was first uncovered last month. In Chicago, a second swine flu death was reported by officials, bringing the US toll to 15.

Mexico's four fatalities raised the country's toll to 89 with 100 new infections reported, bringing the total to 4,821, the health ministry said. Around the world, efforts to control the disease continued as new cases were discovered.

Two more countries, the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean and South America's Uruguay, each reported their first two confirmed cases of swine flu, raising the number of countries with cases to 50. Chile confirmed 119 cases late Tuesday, making it by far the South American country most affected by the outbreak. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador have also reported cases.

In Canada, the number of people infected with swine flu soared past the 1,000 mark with 197 new cases confirmed Wednesday, according to health officials. Canada now has 1,118 total A(H1N1) cases, including two deaths. The country has the largest number of infections after Mexico and the United States. Elsewhere, services continued to slowly return to something approaching normalcy.

In Mexico, cruise ships began calling at Cozumel after a one-month hiatus. Australia, meanwhile, slapped tough measures on cruise ships docking in Sydney in a bid to stop the spread of the disease. Under the new rules, all cruise liners docking in Sydney will be treated as potential swine flu sites and passengers will be held on board until the ship is cleared. Australia's restrictions came with the A(H1N1) virus spreading further throughout Asia.

But the WHO has so far resisted declaring the disease a full-fledged pandemic.
The outbreak has spread further in Asia, with Singapore confirming its first case and Hong Kong, where Asia's first infection sparked a week-long quarantine of around 300 guests and staff at a city hotel, announced a fresh total of 10. Japan has seen a rapid rise in confirmed cases, saying Wednesday it had over 350.

In Europe, Romania announced its first confirmed infection in a woman who returned from New York on May 23 with her two young children. Greece reported its third swine flu case as health officials called a fresh emergency meeting, while stressing the situation was under "complete control."

Besides the human toll, Mexico's economy has taken a deep hit from the virus. Mexican restaurant owners said that some 6,500 eateries remained definitively closed due to losses made during the swine flu epidemic, shedding more than 55,000 jobs.
Almost half of those forced to close were in the sprawling capital, where the government ordered all restaurants to shut temporarily at the height of the epidemic, the national chamber of the restaurant industry said.

Tsunami Alert Called Off

A tsunami watch in place for three Central American countries after a 7.1 magnitude quake struck off Honduras has been called off.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the danger of a tsunami hitting Belize, Guatemala and Honduras had now passed.
The powerful quake hit 64km (39 miles) north-east of Roatan on Honduras' Isles de la Bahia in the Caribbean Sea, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.
There were no immediate reports of major damage or mass casualties.
The quake struck at 0324 local time (0824 GMT) at a relatively shallow depth of 10km(six miles).
Tremors were felt in dozens of cities across the region and as far north as Cancun in Mexico, the USGS said.
People in Guatemala City ran into the streets in their pyjamas, the Associated Press news agency reports.
The Pacific Warning Center in Hawaii said that the danger of a major tsunami wave hitting the coastlines of nearby countries had now passed.
But it warned that boats and coastal structures could still be affected by rapid currents caused by the quake.

Year 7 and Year 8 Exams - Study Guides

Year 7
Physical and Human Geography - the differences
Map Skills (Symbols, Grid References, Distances, Land Height, Direction)
Longitude and Latitude
The Geography of Wales and the UK (Rivers, Mountains, National Parks, Cities)
Settlement Patterns and Change
Transport Change
Industrial Change

Year 8
Features of a Drainage Basin
Meanders and Waterfalls
River Flooding
Watercycle
Recording the Weather
Rainfall Types
Climate Graphs
Anticyclones and Depressions
Growth of the Tourist Industry
Benefits and Problems of Tourism

You will have the one lesson to complete the exam.
Remember your mark goes on your end of year report along with the class average.
Best of luck to you all.
Enjoy the rest of the half term.

Disney - just for fun

Year 13 Coursework

Congratulations to all the Year 13 Geographers for doing so well with their coursework!
See, I knew you could do it. All your hard work has paid off!
Everybody scored at least 40 out of 50 and are now set to achieve their predicted A and B grades!!
Well done all once again!