Be inspired by previous Rex Walford Award winners
View the winning Rex Walford Award entries from previous years.
2025 competition
The theme for the 2025 Rex Walford Award was: Understanding islands.
We were interested to see lesson plans and accompanying resources that linked directly to the curriculum and encouraged students to think about:
- Islands that demonstrate the geographical processes, topics and themes that they learn about through geography.
- The similarities and differences between islands, what connects them and what makes them unique.
- How the unique geography of islands can differ depending on socio-economic, political, environmental and physical aspects.
- The challenges that islands face, and the solutions presented to them at local, national and international scales.
The winner of the 2025 Rex Walford Award was Emelia Welch from Marling School.
Understanding islands
Emelia's Key Stage Three scheme of work is designed to provide a concise but comprehensive understanding about the physical and human geography of islands around the world.
It allows the opportunity to consider how islands have evolved over time and will continue to change into the future.
2024 competition
The theme for the Rex Walford Award 2024 was: Choose geography.
We were interested to see lesson plans and accompanying resources which encouraged students to think about:
- Why geography is a useful and relevant subject to study
- Why studying geography matters
- How geography and geographical skills can help you to understand a range of ideas and concepts
- The skills that geographers have that make them stand out from the crowd
- Where geography can take you and the jobs that geographers do
- How geographers make a difference
- What parts of geography they find the most interesting and useful to study and why.
The winner of the 2024 Rex Walford Award was Beatrice Spicer from Orleans Park School.
Choose geography
By integrating concepts of space and place, map skills, and fieldwork, Beatrice's scheme of work aims to engage students actively in geography, helping them recognise its significance and applicability in both their personal lives and the global community.
It promotes personal connections to geography, encourages enquiry-based learning, and provides hands-on fieldwork experiences, helping students develop practical skills and gain awareness of environmental issues.
2023 competition
The theme for the Rex Walford Award 2023 was: A blueprint for the future.
We were interested to see lesson plans and accompanying resources which encouraged students to think about innovative ideas to address problems in areas such as:
- Resources, food production and supply, energy and sustainability and water security.
- Population growth, urbanisation, transport and travel.
- Economic crisis and trade.
- Risk management.
- Environmental management and biodiversity.
The winner of the Rex Walford Award 2023 was India Owens from Latymer Upper School.
A blueprint for the future
Geography is a contemporary academic subject that is fundamental to our understanding of preserving the world for the future.
India's scheme of work is designed to encourage students to appreciate the dynamic nature of the world and understand the complexities and interdependence of the major global issues we currently face.
Students will build upon prior knowledge to understand a range of these global issues, and think both independently and collaboratively about how these issues can be sustainably addressed.
Other winners of the Rex Walford Award
In 2022, we asked trainee or early career geography teachers to create a short scheme of work, including a range of mapping, which reveals a place where their pupils’ would like to travel to, and how and why they want to go there. Unfortunately we were unable to award the Rex Walford Award in 2022.
In 2021, we asked trainee or early career geography teachers to create a short scheme of work, including a range of mapping, revealing how their pupils’ lives had been shaped by the Covid pandemic. The winner of the 2021 Rex Walford Award was Paul Greenhalgh, Berkhamsted Boys’ School, Berkhamsted.
The 2020 Rex Walford award challenged teachers to produce a scheme of work around the topic of the world outside my window. The winner of the 2020 competition was Emily Chandler from William Perkin CofE High School.
The 2019 Rex Walford Award asked entrants to produce a short scheme of work, covering at least three lessons, that focused on the question: Where can geography take you? The winner of the 2019 Rex Walford Award was Victoria Pellant, Torquay Boys Grammar School.
