Local area comparisons: a possible format to teach this....

Each year, the RGS-IBG run a competition in association with Geographical Magazine.
It's called the Young Geographer of the Year Award.

The details have just been announced of this year's competition.


The competition began in 2000 and has become a regular feature in many schools' calendars.
The question for Young Geographer of the Year 2013, run jointly with Geographical, is:

How does either the human or physical geography of your local area compare to the rest of the UK? 

Pupils should use different sources of geographical information and data to research their local area and compare it to the national picture in the UK. This might include using census or climate data, and examining urban change or flood risk. However, the choice is open to you to explore relevant data to your local area.
The competition has categories for Key Stage 2 (KS2), KS3, GCSE and A Level students. 

The Society encourages schools to run their own in-school competition before sending their top entries into the national competition.
We particularly welcome entries which:

• Can demonstrate a good use of different and relevant data
• Focus on and explain a small number of geographical features and information about them. We do not need to know everything about your local area and would prefer you to select some key data
• May also involve first-hand observation in the local area

Entries for the Young Geographer of the Year competition must be received by 5.00pm on the 11 October 2013.

Rex Walford Award 2013 – for student teachers or teaching colleagues new to the classroom

The same question will also form the basis of the accompanying Rex Walford Award, which is for teachers in either their student training year (for example: PGCE, Schools Direct) or who have just started in the classroom (for example: NTQ, Teach First). Entries should include lesson notes or a scheme of work to cover two or three lessons exploring this issue and we particularly welcome entries which include opportunities for data handling and fieldwork. 
Entries for the Rex Walford Award must be received by 5.00pm on the 11 October 2013.

Go to the RGS-IBG website for further information and entry forms...

OSIRIS CPD for GCSE Geography

I have another new strand in my activities starting this year.

I have previously led hundreds of CPD events all over the country for the GA, and beyond the UK for digitalearth, but I will be doing some events for OSIRIS for the first time.

OSIRIS offer a range of courses for different subjects.

I will be leading two different courses, which will be put on several times at several different locations.

The first is a course called 'All Pupils pass GCSE Geography' 
This will be held twice during March, in London and Birmingham.
Details of this course can be read HERE.

This will draw on some of the ideas from the book that I wrote for Badger, and which you can read about in the book's accompanying blog HERE.

The second is a course on the 'Future of Secondary Geography', which will look at all the coming changes and equip you with strategies and resources to prepare for, and implement the coming changes at KS3 and 'A' level, and the introduction of the EBC....
This is a new course, which will be put on in London, Birmingham and Manchester in July - dates are still to be confirmed. It will draw on a new book that was published by Routledge in December 2012, and which I contributed a chapter too. Details can be read HERE.
I shall let you know when details are added to the website - we are finalising the details of the course, which will involve all new exciting  materials.

Both courses are, at heart, opportunities to get together and learn from the practice of others, as well as take time out of the daily stream of demands to plot a steady course through some of the changes ahead, and prepare students effectively for formal assessments.

Head over to the OSIRIS website to find out more about their courses in a range of subject areas.

I look forward to perhaps seeing some of you at these courses.