Today saw me head over to the University of Gloucestershire’s Francis Close Hall Campus in Cheltenham for a geography GIS day. GlosGeog, Gloucestershire’s local Geographical Association (GA) branch, had supported this event through sourcing input for two of the workshops and promotion. Whilst GlosGeog had been keen to organise a day earlier in the academic year, this was not feasible with the hosting venue. Numbers might have been higher had this been the case. However, we had a good turnout today, with 54 Year 12 students and their teachers from four schools across the county. It is hoped that this event will act as a pilot for another GIS-themed day in the future.
After registering and receiving a warm welcome from Professor Phil Toms, Professor in Physical Geography at University of Gloucestershire, we divided into two groups to experience three workshops throughout the morning. Since I was not leading any of the sessions, I was able to observe and participate with students and teachers; a rarity!
The first workshop that I attended was delivered by Graeme Schofield, Geography Subject Lead at Oak National Academy, and entitled ‘Why context matters: Using GIS to think spatially about place and issues‘. Places and events are shaped by geography. Physical and human landscapes influence how we see a place, the decisions that are made and how people interact with their environment. We may know that an event is occurring in a particular location or have heard about the character of a place, but without investigating its geographical context we cannot fully understand it. This session explored how accessible GIS tools can help us examine the wider spatial context that shapes places and issues. By layering data and using accessible GIS tools, it is possible to reveal patterns, relationships and processes that are operating at different scales, helping us make better sense of our increasingly complex world. Graeme referred to Gloucester and his local area of Sheffield to demonstrate this. Students were able to see how they could easily employ GIS tools during all stages of their future NEA investigation, e.g. planning; research; recording; presentation of data; analysis and interpretation.
This second session was run by Peter Vujakovic, Emeritus Professor of Geography at Canterbury Christ Church University, and concentrated upon ‘Exploring continuity and change: online access to the Land Utilisation Surveys of Britain‘. The Land Utilisation Surveys of Britain give detailed geographical information on the land use and land cover for the 1930s and 1960-1970s. They provide an opportunity to explore the drivers of change, e.g. economics; technology; climate, that may have affected a landscape, e.g. pupils’ home area or one that they have visited. The Second Land Utilisation Survey includes particularly detailed information on a landscape that their grandparents may have known. More recent land use surveys were also mentioned. Again, the audience’s needs and interests were considered, with Peter relating this to the county of Gloucestershire and the town of Cirencester.
Following a break for refreshments, I popped along to the Geography Computer Lab to hear Dr Ceri Davies discuss ‘Integrating GIS Into your NEA‘. Having just witnessed my daughter complete her NEA in geography, I can see how beneficial the integration of GIS could be in order to secure the highest possible marks. Ceri gave students and teachers a practical introduction to ArcGIS, focusing on the key tools needed for the NEA. She covered simple mapping, data input and basic spatial analysis to help build confidence with a platform that many find challenging. By the end, participants certainly had a solid grounding as to how ArcGIS could enhance the quality and clarity of NEA investigations.
Half an hour was allocated for lunch and a chance to network with presenters, staff at the University of Gloucestershire and teachers accompanying students to the event. I think we gained a few new GlosGeog members in the process too (it is FREE to join, so do spread the word).
Next, we piled into the main lecture theatre to hear Professor Kenny Lynch, Professor of Development and Community at the University of Gloucestershire, talk about ‘Skills for a greener future through geography‘. I have heard Kenny speak before at a couple of sessions that he has kindly delivered for GlosGeog, so I knew pupils and teachers would be suitably informed and engaged throughout. This was also a topic hotly discussed at the Geographical Association (GA)’s recent Annual Conference and Exhibition in Sheffield last week, especially in light of points raised by the recent Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) and its anticipated ‘evolution’ of the National Curriculum and specifications at both GCSE and A level. The world faces challenges that affect communities and landscapes at a global and local scale. Many of these are linked to human activities. The good news is that they can be resolved by human action. However, it will take work by people with the right knowledge and skills. Some call the skills needed ‘green skills’. We were enlightened as to what these skills are, how we can gain them and where geography comes in. Kenny spoke about some of the latest evidence of the growth in demand for green skills and explained how geographers at every level can, and will, contribute to the global effort to address these challenges.
The Outreach Team led an evaluation during the last fifteen minutes of the day before bidding participants farewell. This included an online form, as well as a brief presentation about the Bloxham Sustainability Challenge 2026-2027 given by myself on behalf of Dr Claire Evans, Head of Geography at Bloxham School, who was unable to attend in real time due to her teaching commitments. I met Claire at the Geographical Association (GA)’s Annual Conference and Exhibition and we chatted at length about how this initiative has evolved. Take a look at the PDF of the slides below if you wish to learn more or are keen to be included in the next round, perhaps?
Gathered ‘pupil voice‘ and ‘staff voice‘ can be viewed below:
‘Pupil voice’:
What did you enjoy most about the day?
Everything!
The talks.
The ‘green skills’ lecture.
Learning how to use GIS.
Hands-on experience with ArcGIS.
Learning about the career options in geography.
Learning about GIS and the SDGs.
The chance to partake with hands-on experience using GIS.
Learning GIS skills.
Looking around the university.
I think the practical work was the best part.
Looking at the different agriculture maps.
The talk on places.
Applying GIS.
I found out lots of information, such as GIS and how to use it.
GIS mapping on computers.
Doing the ArcGIS lesson – having a go a using it.
Seeing how GIS can be used to compare places.
I enjoyed the practical session with GIS; after a while, it was easy to understand and quite fun to learn about its use.
New career options.
It was an incredibly useful day. Students came away with maps they had created themselves using ArcGIS and gained a detailed understanding of how geographic information systems can be used, not only to analyse and present data for non examined assessment but how to generate possible enquriy questions. As a teacher, it has helped me to think about how I can use some of the recommend resources in my teaching, particularly change over time for the Changing Places unit. Hearing about green skills and where geography can take you was insightful. I really hope this session runs again next year – we would definitely sign up! (Teacher)
I learnt a great amount about the importance of GIS in spatial data presentation. Through a session which explored how to use GIS to construct a question for my NEA, I learnt more about how to use context to shape my NEA. (Student)
I found it really interesting to explore the complexities of GIS mapping as it sparked a lot of ideas for how I could use GIS within my own NEA. (Student)
I found the introduction to GIS to be very useful and easy to understand. It really taught me how to use GIS to the point where I could map any data I collected. Furthermore, the following two sessions on land use and perception on place really showcased good examples of what I could do my NEA on. Finally, I found the last part of the day to be useful, highlighting the importance of green skills and green jobs, which I was unaware of. (Student)
Many thanks to the Outreach Team for all their organisation, as well as the various presenters for their outstanding input throughout the day. GlosGeog look forward to working alongside the University of Gloucestershire again in the near future to enable further, valuable opportunities to be offered to students and teachers locally.