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Competitions
Young Geographer of the Year competition 2013
Young Geographer of the Year (YGOTY) competition is run in conjunction with Geographical magazine. It 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
- Entry criteria for the competition PDF | MSWORD
- Further information about the competition, including where to send your entries to PDF | MSWORD
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.
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Support is provided by the British Academy, as part of their Quantitative Skills programme |
Young Geographer of the Year 2012
Young geographers proved they know their local geography and world connections, as the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) and Geographical magazine’s Young Geographer of the Year 2012 winners were announced. The awards were presented to students in a special ceremony at the Society’s headquarters in Kensington, London on Friday, 23 November 2012.
Last year’s competition draws its inspiration from the Society’s ‘Walk the World’ project, part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Walk the World invites people to explore their local connections to the 206 Olympic and Paralympic participating nations. Students were asked to explain the connections between their own local area and the 206 Olympic and Paralympic participating nations, and to show how they influence upon its geography.
The question allowed students to look at the way in which geography surrounds us all and to better understand the connections between the world’s people, places and environments and the interactions taking place between them.
Commenting on the winners, Steve Brace, Head of Education at the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), said: “I am delighted with the quality of entries this year, and was particularly impressed to see our young geographers providing such insightful and knowledgeable information links between their local area and Olympic and Paralympic participating nations, and how they influence the geography.”
Each category had one overall winner and three highly commended entries. The winners were:
Nine to 11 years category
Winner: Freja Fuchs (JPG) Winchester House School, Brackley, Northamptonshire
Highly Commended entries:
Twelve to 14 years category
Winner: Ollie Barnard (JPG) King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford
Highly Commended entries:
Fourteen to 16 years category
Winner: Coco Huggins (JPG) Godolphin & Latymer School, Hammersmith
Highly Commended entries:
Sixteen to 18 years category
Winner: George McMullen (PDF) Lancaster Royal Grammar School
Highly Commended entries:
Full media release (PDF)
Rex Walford award for PGCE students, Teach First, GTP or NQT geography teachers 2012
The Society was also delighted to announce the winner of The Rex Walford Award 2012 for PGCE students and newly qualified geography teachers (NQT), reflecting the late Rex Walford’s passion for training new geography teachers. This was awarded for the best set of teaching resources, scheme of work or lesson plans linked to this year's Young Geographer competition. The winner of the annual award in 2012 was Leanne Milner from Beauchamp College in Oadby, Leicestershire. Leanne can be seen in the slideshow above.
David W. Smith Memorial Prize 2012, supported by Routledge Publishers
The Developing Areas Research Group of the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) annual essay competition in memory of David W. Smith.
David W Smith, who also published under the name of David Drakakis Smith, was an outstanding scholar committed to research on Third World cities. He died in 1999.
A2 level students in England and Wales and Advanced Higher students in Scotland are invited to write an essay of up to 1500 words on a different topic each year. The essay prize is £100 (cheque) from Routledge Publishers.
Essay topic: Discuss the view that “in many cities in developing countries, hunger and malnutrition are common amongst the poor, even when food is relatively abundant." D W Smith 1997
How to submit your essay
- Essays should be word processed, 1.5 spaced
- Please include your name, school and contact details with your essay
- Your teacher must confirm that the essay is your own work
- If you would like DARG to acknowledge receipt of your essay, please include a stamped self-addressed envelope
- Closing date is Friday 1 March 2013
Submit either hard copy or electronic copy of your essay to:
Gill Miller, David W Smith Memorial Prize, Department of Geography and Development Studies, University of Chester College, Parkgate Road, Chester CH1 4BJ.