International Geography Training - iGCSE Geography - with Matt Podbury and me

Last year, I was the Series Editor of a new book published by Collins for the Cambridge iGCSE Geography syllabus (0460). 

This was for the newly updated version of the syllabus, which put the content back into Human and Physical Geography examinations and changed the nature of the skills element of the assessment. 

I ensured that there were new contexts and case studies which were not the 'usual' ones. I am very pleased with how it turned out.

The book is accompanied by a Workbook and a Teacher Guide to help explain how to teach the course.

My own school offers the iGCSE Geography, and my colleague Matt Norbury was very useful when scoping out the book's structure, and my colleague Claire Kyndt was one of the authoring team.

Please take a look at the book if you are teaching this specification - there are a lot of people who do in countries across the world, and this is worth adopting for your classroom. Why not buy a copy to see whether it's a good fit for your school?

The iGCSE Geography course is very popular globally as I said, but there are relatively few CPD opportunities for teachers who teach the course.

Richard Allaway and Matt Podbury both work in international schools which offer the specification are organising a series of courses for iGCSE Geography. They have over 35 years of teaching experience between them.

Richard runs the website GeographyalltheWay.

Matt runs the website GeographyPods.

They have teamed up to create International Geography Training. This offers webinars and other sessions.

The full range of courses that they are offering can be seen here.

They have brought in various experts to co-run some of the courses for the 2026-2027 academic year, including Jonathan Butcher from the British School of Milan.

In December, Matt Podbury and I are running a course together designed for teachers who are about to teach the course for the first time, but which would also be useful for anyone who is relatively new to the new syllabus - which is most teachers.

It's a way off yet, but worth getting in your diaries.

Details here:

Booking details are here.

The first of two 90-minute sessions is led by Matt and focuses on adapting your delivery for the new Cambridge 0460/0976 syllabus. He works through what has changed and what has stayed the same between 2026 and 2027, sequencing decisions and pace of delivery, doorstep geography opportunities and case studies, free online IGCSE Geography resources, and planning fieldwork visits with effective fieldwork questions.

The second session brings views and key advice from textbook author Alan Parkinson. Discover the print and online resources that work hardest for the new course, the case studies that bring it to life, and practical ways to embed the ‘and sustainable’ requirement across your curriculum rather than treating it as a bolt-on.

Leave with a clear opening-months roadmap, vetted resources, and practical answers to the questions every first-time IGCSE Geography teacher meets.

It's organised so that it is accessible to people in different key locations around the world.

See you there?

The welcome return of ERASMUS

Regular readers will know that I have been involved with ERASMUS projects for many years. These have included the DigitalEarth project - a huge undertaking involving meetings across Europe, the GeoCapabilities project, I-USE, D3, GI Learner and GI Pedagogy. Search the blog using the name of the project to find out more about them.

Two of these projects involved my current school, and my MFL and ICT colleagues were also involved in gaining funding for their projects as well.

I am currently involved with the EMO-GI project, as recent posts have shown - keep an eye on the project as it develops over the coming two years. I've been blogging about the progress so far. This is an interesting project with some ambitious outputs.

The British Council will be administering the ERASMUS+ funding on behalf of the UK as they did before we made the decision to leave the EU.

I recommend that you sign up to a newsletter to receive updates as we begin to find out more about what sort of funding will be possible for your school.

If you do sign up, you'll receive this message:

As the UK’s National Agency, the British Council will work with partners across education, youth and sport to deliver inclusive, high-quality opportunities for learners and professionals from all backgrounds.

We’ll keep you updated with:

• Key dates and timelines
• Information on eligibility
• Guidance on how to apply
• Stories and examples to help you prepare

International experience builds confidence. It builds skills. It builds futures.

I'm hoping to be involved with ERASMUS projects for some years to come, and am always available to add my expertise to projects.

Teachmeet @20

I've previously posted about the 20th anniversary of Teachmeet this year.

Danny Nicholson is organising a special online Teachmeet on the 3rd of July.

Sign up to present - for a 2 or 7 minute slot. The names will be chosen at random for this.

Sign up to watch the Teachmeet here.

This is actually the first day of my summer break, so will be a nice way to end the term by picking up lots of ideas from those who are chosen to present.