Mid-June and time for the geography southwest Annual Conference, held, once again, at the University of the West of England (UWE) on the northern outskirts of Bristol, but today in a new venue, the Enterprise Park 1 building. Simon Ross, John Davidson, plus Dr Harry West and colleagues at UWE, had done a sterling job of pulling everything together. My little spot of promoting for them and supporting with registration on the day was the least that I could do. It was great to see representation from both leading subject associations, namely the Geographical Association (GA) and the Royal Geographical Society (RGS-IBG). There was a real buzz before too long, with over 100 geography teachers/educators/consultants travelling from throughout the south west region, and sometimes beyond.
45 minutes were allocated at the start of the day for registration, refreshments and visiting the publishers’ exhibition.
At 10.15 am, we were all ushered into the main lecture theatre for a formal welcome and housekeeping by Simon Ross, John Davidson and Dr Harry West. Fortunately, there was a large industrial unit providing very effective and welcome air conditioning to keep us comfortable during this current heatwave.
The first lecture of the morning was given by Steve Brace, Chief Executive at the Geographical Association (GA). Steve took the theme of the Geographical Association Annual Conference and Exhibition (‘Geography makes a difference‘), which was held in mid-April at Sheffield College City Campus. Steve provided a timely update on the direction of travel for the new National Curriculum for geography – where changes have been recommended and the implementation timescale for the new National Curriculum, GCSEs and A levels. He also highlighted some other areas where geography makes a difference to young peoples’ lives and future careers. Whilst I was aware of much of this having heard Steve speak recently in Sheffield, it was useful to learn about subsequent developments and expectations for the next academic year. Steve drew our attention to the next curriculum consultation in September 2026. He also displayed an interesting slide relating to the ten highest earning degrees; good to see geography holding its own amongst the likes of medicine, dentistry, economics, law and engineering. In addition, Steve’s lecture gave me ideas for foci for future Primary Geography Subject Leader Network meetings that I coordinate and deliver.
The second lecture was delivered by Tim Marshall, author of Prisoners of Geography and other books that many geographers are familiar with. He talked about inspiring students to study geography. Tim considered how maps can bring international relations, history and geography alive. The use of maps and pictures means that what are sometimes considered dauntingly complex issues may be contextualised in a single image. He stated how he had learnt where cities were in the UK from his love of football. Tim projected maps in various ways to enable us to see the world from the perspective of different countries, such as the one below. He mentioned that he was a big fan of images and video as a means of engaging young people. However, Tim did emphasise that technology can help and harm us. He projected a video that highlighted the phenomenal growth of satellites, particularly since 2011, as well as sharing a movie clip that had taken the former US President Obama’s words and enabled someone else to say them to demonstrate this. He finished with the wise and profound words ‘geography always matters’.
Dr Chris Spencer, Associate Director in the Department of Geography and Environment at UWE, had the final spot of the morning. I have heard Chris speak on numerous occasions and he has always been hugely supportive of GlosGeog, Gloucestershire’s local Geographical Association branch, so I knew we were in very capable hands. Today, he concentrated on The 2023 Turkish/Syrian earthquake – tectonics and human vulnerability. Chris investigated whether the event was a natural or human disaster by exploring it through a series of stages of the disaster management cycle. At each stage, he examined the reasons why the event was so impactful and what might have been done to negate this. He exemplified how GIS can be used to help illustrate the causes, in addition to the primary and secondary effects of the earthquake. A couple of YouTube clips were also recommended. His comments reflected much of what Professor Ilan Kelman said at our last GlosGeog virtual speaker session too.
Rumbling tummies meant it was now time to explore the campus and sample its food offerings, followed by some networking and another visit to the publishers’ exhibition.
After lunch, delegates had the chance to attend two workshops. There were a range of options to choose from. Although there were several that appealed, I decided to opt for the sessions led by Dr Rosanna Carver and Reuben McQueen and Ibrahim Mizi, individuals that I had not heard before.
Firstly, Rosanna, who is based at the University of Cambridge, looked at ‘Geographies of Hope: engaging with ideas of “hope” and “hopelessness” in the classroom‘. She stated that students are increasingly aware of and engaging with multiple crises – including environmental change and conflict – both within and outside of the classroom. Here, we discussed how we can also encourage young people to imagine alternative possibilities and futures. Drawing on slow teaching and creative methods, we contemplated how we might encourage hopeful understandings of a complex world as a starting point for change. Her take on ‘thinking like a (hopeful) geographer’ is one which I believe we should all try to instil in students. I was also really impressed by the academic journalling assessment opportunity that she shared with us; a slightly different approach to assessing students that incorporates a degree of deep and personal reflection.
Later, Reuben and Ibrahim (OpenKit) opened our eyes to ‘AI in the Geography Classroom: Prompting and Practical Workflows‘. This was an interactive session showcasing practical ways in which AI can support geography teaching. They looked at useful prompt techniques, common pitfalls and examples of how AI tools can fit into everyday classroom workflows. It was reassuring to know that I was using their suggested AI tools and for the right purposes. Nevertheless, I did pick up a few tips too. This appears to be a rapidly evolving domain, which we will have to embrace and attempt to keep abreast with.
We all reconvened in the main lecture theatre for the RGS lecture, delivered by Dr Becky Collins from the University of Bristol. Becky took the theme of ‘Remote sensing: observing the spatial from space‘, something Dan Raven-Ellison and myself had touched upon in a recent GlosGeog event aimed at Key Stage 2 pupils and their teachers to coincide with #NationalFestivalofFieldwork (https://create2inspire.co.uk/2026/06/02/marking-nationalfestivaloffieldwork2026/). Here, Becky explained how satellites can help us understand what is happening on Earth – often in places we cannot easily reach. Through a series of short case studies, Becky demonstrated how remote sensing allows geographers to observe landscapes, hazards and environmental change from space. She presented some classroom-ready examples, such as urban expansion in Las Vegas, USA and Dailan, China, wildfire detection in Jasper, Canada and Aral Sea reduction, which clearly exemplified how remote sensing can bring spatial thinking to life and help students connect geography with real-world environmental challenges.
What a wonderful day of enhancing geographical knowledge, understanding and skills, being inspired by such enthusiastic, engaging and knowledgeable lecturers, as well as sharing best practice with like-minded individuals … and for FREE! Well done to all involved in the organisation and hosting of the conference; no mean feat! If you missed out this year, then do make sure you pop along in 2027.