KEY STAGE 5 GEOGRAPHY
Changing places: a tale of two postcodes
Enquiry question: How is Stratford changing and how should it be represented?
Learning objectives
Knowledge and understanding
- Stratford, in east London, is one of the fastest changing places in the UK
- Past and present connections, including the 2012 London Olympics, have shaped Stratford’s identity
- Demographic, socio-economic and cultural characteristics of Stratford are changing
Geographical skills
- Identify evidence of secondary data through primary fieldwork
- Carry out surveys of population and peoples’ perceptions and experiences
- Carry out a shopping comparison to identify changes
- Select and photograph locations to represent a place in a TV soap
Learning outcomes
Most students will be able to:
- Recognise factors that affect perceptions and experiences of a place
- Understand how recent developments in Stratford are changing peoples’ perceptions and experiences
- Compare shopping in two Stratford postcodes and what this tells us about changes
- Identify demographic, socio-economic and cultural characteristics and how these are changing
- Choose locations and devise a storyline for a TV soap to more accurately represent east London
Pre-visit recommendation
Students should:
Consider their own perceptions of east London and how it might compare with where they live
Examine secondary data about Stratford from the Office for National Statistics web site
Resources
Sheet 1: Perceptions of east London
Website resource: Office for National Statistics website
Introduction
Meet at Stratford Station. Students describe their perceptions before the visit. They are introduced to the running task for the day. They will select locations from the places they visit to more accurately represent east London in an episode of a TV soap. They mark locations on a map and take photos.
Resources
Sheet 2: New ‘East Enders’
Sheet 3: Stratford map
Fieldwork
Location 1: Stratford E15 Walk around Stratford, including areas of old terraced housing and post-war council estate. Students attempt to identify features that exemplify demographic and socio-economic data from 2011 Census. Which data is easy or hard to exemplify?
Location 2: Stratford Town Centre E15 Students carry out a survey of people visiting the shopping centre to find out their perceptions and experiences of living in E15. They do a population survey to record ethnic and age groups in E15. They carry out a shop survey in Stratford Market Village to classify shops and services, their country of origin, availability and prices of goods.
Location 3: Westfield, Stratford City E20 Students walk through Westfield. They observe demographic, socio-economic and cultural differences from E15 and note these. How can they explain the differences?
Lunch at Lower Food Court.
Location 4: East Village E20 Students carry out a survey of people in E20 to find out their perceptions and experiences of living there. They do a population survey to record age and ethnic groups in E20. They carry out a comparative shopping survey for E20.
Resources
Location 1
Sheet 4: Stratford 2011 Census: Key figures
Location 2
Sheet 5: Perception and experience survey
Sheet 6: Population survey
Sheet 7: Shopping comparison – E15 and E20
Location 4
Sheet 5: Perception and experience survey
Sheet 6: Population survey
Sheet 7: Shopping comparison – E15 and E20
Plenary
Students compare their findings from E15 and E20. How do their demographic, socio-economic and cultural profile compare? How does this reflect changes happening in Stratford? How important is postcode in determining people’s perception and experience of Stratford?
They reflect on their overall experience in Stratford to select locations and devise a storyline to more accurately represent east London in a TV soap.
Resources
Sheet 8: Changing Stratford
