ABSTRACT
The transfer between the primary and secondary phases of schooling in England and Wales has long been one of the most problematic events in the educational experience of students. They continue to face potentially subversive separations in terms of both content and teaching style. In the case of Geography, little serious attention has been given to more than the rhetoric of continuity. Szpakowski, for example, found that secondary schools regarded it as of low priority in comparison with, say, Mathematics. The fact that work in Geography in feeder primary schools was perceived as being disparate in quantity and quality also discouraged secondary schools from taking much notice (Szpakowski 1985). Similarly, Williams more recently (1997) identified conflicts in curriculum culture between upper primary and lower secondary schools. It may, therefore, be useful to look at the key concepts which have been identified by Derricott (1985) as underpinning genuine curriculum continuity. These are: transition, liaison, continuity of planning, consistency, and structure.
