Geography: a subject hub for London

About 'Geography: a subject hub for London'

Geography: a subject hub for London was a project funded by the GLA through the London Schools Excellence Legacy Fund.  It aimed to improve the quality of teaching and learning of geography in London’s schools, in addition to encouraging more pupils to study geography.

Its scope encompassed connection across primary and secondary schools involving academy, free, maintained and independent schools.

The project aimed to:

• Improve subject knowledge via free CPD and training events in geography hubs across London and provide continuity to support changes in the curriculum from KS2 to A Level

• Engage pupils via Going Places with Geography career events – all focused upon the relevance and value of geography to further study and careers

The specific aims were to:

• Raise subject understanding by addressing knowledge gaps and connecting teachers with new geographical subject knowledge, thus building capacity to teach engaging and high quality lessons

• Assist the new academic demand associated with the introduction of new curriculum and examinations

• Increase teacher confidence of using specific geographical knowledge and the undertaking of London based fieldwork via a 12 month programme of professional support (to be reviewed, developed and embedded as knowledge into new schemes of work)

• Promote Chartered Geographer (Teacher) to provide formal subject specific professional accreditation in recognition of the new knowledge, professional expertise and commitment to CPD

• Promote London’s unique and changing geography via the study of the capital’s wider context of economic, social and environmental development

• Make available to pupils resources to support highest level understanding of core geographical knowledge for better achievement with new curriculum and examinations 

• Increase interest in geography amongst students whilst highlighting its relevance to further study and careers

The later phase of this project (2016-2017) built on the success of a previous project, Rediscovering London's Geography.

Local CPD Geography Hubs

As part of the project, 19 partner schools developed local geography hubs for primary and secondary geography teachers across 16 boroughs; alongside providing expert input and advice to the project.

The geography hubs were designed to support the teaching and learning of geography across primary and secondary. They aimed to:

• Connect across primary and secondary schools

• Involve academy, free, maintained and independent sectors

• Hold termly meetings to engage local teachers with the wider programme, its outputs and dissemination

• Help teachers to produce challenging lessons, rooted in up-to-date research, focussing on geographical subject knowledge

• Run specific CPD sessions to provide subject knowledge updates for key areas of curriculum and a range of geographical techniques and approaches

• Provide training on local fieldwork to highlight the relevance of the geography within London, and also trianing on fieldwork in further afield locations

Geography hubs that ran:

• Brent

• Bromley

• Ealing

• Enfield

• Hammersmith and Fulham

• Havering

• Hounslow / Hillingdon

• Islington

• Kensington and Chelsea

• Lambeth

• Newham

• Richmond / Kingston

• Sutton

• Wandsworth

You can also view the project report (PDF)

Project video produced by Umbrella Collective and the Greater London Authority showing the impact which the RGS-IBG geography hub has had in supporting the teaching of geography in London’s primary and secondary schools.