Golden Sands DME

Thanks to Anthony Bennett over at Internet Geography for the excellent images and drone footage of the Golden Sands resort near Withernsea which have been shared over the last few weeks.
I am familiar with Withernsea, as my first ever teaching experience was in the school there during my PGCE.


These are all worth exploring, and the students loved them in the last week of term, when we explored coastal erosion as part of the conclusion to our Adventure Landscapes unit.
Visit the website, or follow on Twitter to see more...

And to make the most of these images, you can now obtain a DME which provides a range of activities for AQA GCSE Geography in particular, including questions, images and activities.



There is a £5 discount until Christmas Eve. See it described here.

https://t.co/MzBW6h6kYE pic.twitter.com/bfSOcpgEEb

— internetgeography.net 🌍 (@InternetGeog) December 17, 2018

Finally, if you go to the shop you will see details of CPD / fieldwork events that Anthony is running early in the New Year.

Ice Flows Game - version 2

It's been a while since I saw the first iteration of Ice Flows.
The 2nd version of the website has now been launched, and we've also launched a series of instructional videos which help relate the game to the science that underpins it. If you haven't seen it before (or even if you have) head over to the Ice Flows Game website to take a look.
Coming soon: the official launch of the Ice Flows Game Resource Pack (all 70 lovely pages of it...)

TeachMeet GeographyIcons 2019

Good news - just announced on Twitter.
I was proud to have been asked to be the teacher keynote at the first event, and will hope to be there for the 2nd event too... but perhaps just with a short input.

IAPS - GIS course

This course may be of interest to some readers of the blog.

IAPS Geography – Geographic Information System (GIS) for Prep Schools which is due to take place on Thursday 29 November 2018 at Abingdon School, Park Road, Abingdon, Oxfordshire OX14 1DE

The aim of this course is to make the purpose of GIS representation clearer for teaching Years 5, 6,7 and 8.  Delegates will discover how simple GIS skills will help prepare pupils moving to senior schools have the relevant skills.  Following an introduction to GIS, there will be practical sessions using the specialised computer room in Abingdon School’s Geography Department. 

Delegates will take away new ideas on how they can use GIS in their geography lessons and how mapping and the use of GIS can enhance their pupils’ geographical knowledge and understanding.

Full programme and map is attached for your information. 

For further details or to book online please visit https://iaps.uk/courses/detail/1341/

899 - Geography - GIS for Prep Schools 29 11 18 Programme and Map v2 by GeoBlogs on Scribd

Flooding Resources on the GA website

Flooding is an issue which features at KS3, GCSE and 'A' level, and the GA have just added a new section of resources written in association with the Environment Agency. 

Here are the 9 sections that are included in the materials.


 You can also see a range of VIMEO films, such as this one of Gerd Masselink, and some case study links on a related area of the website.

Lovely work.

Better World Detectives

Tui is the travel company formerly known as Thomson. 
They have made available a suite of resources for KS2 pupils, which involves 6 fully resourced lessons. There is an accent on sustainability, which connects with the company's approach of promoting sustainable tourism.

An e-mail is required to download the resource pack, which runs to almost 300Mb as it includes a range of assets including videos and teacher resources to print off. These are fun, and well packaged materials, with nods to social media use, and themes which will be familiar to many young people. The lessons introduce students to a fictional island first, before exploring plastic in the oceans, coral reefs, and the impact of tourism on local communities and people.

Say hello to the Better World Detectives, and you may find a use for some of these resources within your KS2 curriculum.

Share your special places

This is the 125th Anniversary year of the Geographical Association, and the conference in Sheffield in April will be very special.

One of the projects I'm doing (and have been doing for some time) is to tweet out a 'top tip' a day for 125 days on the GA Secondary Phase committee twitter feed. This is coming to a climax on the first day of the conference.

As part of the plans for the GA's celebrations, and connecting with my OS GetOutside Champions Role for 2018, I'm going to start collating a list of 125 inspirational places to visit in the UK.

We all have places from which we draw inspiration... This could be a beach, a particular walk, a historic building, a bench overlooking a viewpoint, a landscape feature or something more esoteric. 

The reasons behind the inspiration may relate to family members, an emotional reunion, or sad passing; they may be places that are visited often, or which left a lasting impression from a single visit. They may be places we remember fondly from childhood, or which we discovered later in life.

This project is connected to the 125th Anniversary of the Geographical Association in 2018. One of the projects which the association wants to develop is a list of 125 Inspirational Places to visit in the UK: human and physical landscapes and locations which sum up the best the UK has to offer.

The project also links to work being done by Alan Parkinson as an Ordnance Survey GetOutside Champion during 2018, and the production of a list with further guidance on visiting the places on it will be a project for Alan to complete.

There is also a joint project underway between Alan Parkinson, and Peter Knight of Keele University, who are working to produce a resource for teachers exploring Inspirational Landscapes and Changing Places at https://aparkinson51.wixsite.com/inspirationalplaces 

Here's an example for you:
Surprise View, in the Peak District
A bend in the road where the Hope Valley, Hathersage and Castleton and Mam Tor beyond suddenly come into view spread out below you - the light varies throughout the year, but the view is always exciting - one of the best in the UK
Be careful when driving! Park up and take in the view

OS Grid Reference: SK249800

I've produced a Google form which you can link to here, and help me out with if possible. Feel free to share the link to the form as well.

New Director of the Royal Geographical Society

A few months ago, Rita Gardner announced that she was stepping down as Director of the RGS-IBG after 22 years, and a search for her replacement began.

The new Director has now been announced, and it is somebody who I have met a few times, and who has a strong education background, which is always good to see.


Joe Smith is currently Head of Geography at the Open University.

Joe Smith was ‘thrilled’ with his appointment. ‘The breadth and scale of the Society’s reach is extraordinary and makes this a rare and compelling role’ he says.

‘The Society is well positioned with an ambitious and comprehensive strategy in place, a loyal membership base and secure finances. I look forward to building on these foundations and taking the Society on to the next phase of its illustrious history.’

The very first meeting I had after being appointed as Secondary Curriculum Development Leader of the GA back in 2008 was over at the Open University, and alongside Clive Barnett and Doreen Massey from the OU, and David Lambert from the GA, Joe Smith was also involved in the meeting. We were discussing potential collaborative work, and about four years later I started working with the OU, managing their VITAL Geography portal for teachers as part of a very successful multi-million pound project.  (Sadly, when the funding ended all the material was mothballed...)

This is a terrific appointment for the RGS-IBG, and I look forward to continuing to support the Society as much as I can

Image credit: Royal Geographical Society

GIS CPD

Details of a new option for GIS training were released earlier. Steve Richardson, who wrote quite a lot of the resources that are available on the ArcGIS Schools Resources section has organised a day looking at embedding GIS in the curriculum to support the progression of some key geographical skills and knowledge.

The price is £160 for the day, including lunch and refreshments and the first course is being run down on the South Coast in June.
More details here on the Eventbrite page.

Beermeet at the GA Conference

One of the elements of the GA Conference for the last 8 years or so has been the Beermeet.
This has grown in size over the years, and we even managed to 'drink the pub dry' a few years ago in Guildford. This follows on from the Teachmeet now that has been added to the programme, and this year's venue has been revealed. I know it well, having stopped off there quite a few times over the years.

The Sheffield Tap is an excellent bar, which is located in the Railway Station in three splendid large rooms. The range of beers is superb, and there is a micro-brewery there too.

Click the link, or scan the QR code to find out more from the Facebook page, and please let us know that you're coming, or planning to come... and feel free to buy me a pint...

Digimap for Schools Resource revamp

Over the last few years, I've written a number of Secondary resources to accompany the Digimap for Schools service. My colleague Paula Owens wrote a whole tranche of Primary resources too.

The resource area has now had a revamp so that it is easier to access particular resources from the archive.

Big Splash! Our new Resources pages is now live! Lots of resources for Primary and Secondary.. we love it! come have a look.. https://t.co/VBWTyFmic4 #primary #secondary #PrimarySTEMchat #ukedchat #geographyteacher #STEM #digitalliteracy pic.twitter.com/YvU7vBL8Mz

— DigimapforSchools (@Digimap4Schools) January 22, 2018

The new look page can be accessed HERE.

It has resources for a range of subjects, not just geography, which is a reminder that if you are thinking of getting a subscription for your school, you should make a point that it is not just for geography, and have it paid from general budgets rather than your own budget...