Biographies of all the Presidents of the Geographical Association since the founding of the Association in 1893. Researched by Alan Parkinson (GA President 2021-22), with contributions from others, including the former Presidents themselves where possible.
The GA Conference video is here. There's a few shots of the audience at mine and Matt Podbury's session along the way.
There are also new Summer issues of the GA's journals, and the GA Magazine has a conference review as well.
Steve Brace has also shared a video linked to the new GA Strategy which runs from 2026-31.
The GA's new Strategy focuses on:
1. Supporting geography as a subject - particularly at a time of curriculum change 2. Supporting primary and secondary teachers 3. Inspiring and supporting the Next Generation of Geographers
The dates and venue for next year's GA Conference have been announced. Fiona Sheriff will be President for 2026-27 and has chosen the theme 'Passionate about Geography'.
The conference will take place at the same venue as this year. It worked really well and is a central location for many, and also very convenient for GA staff as the Association is based in Sheffield. There are plenty of accommodation options and it is a short walk from the train station for sustainable transport options.
Keep an eye out for the announcement of the call for papers, and I hope to see you there.
A high-quality geography education is essential for future generations, as geography has a critical role in solving many of the global challenges we face. The Geographical Association is looking for two new Elected Trustees to join its Board of Trustees from 1 September 2026.
The Board of Trustees meets three times a year in Sheffield, London and online. It comprises 14 Trustees and has responsibility for providing strategic direction and sound governance for the Association.
Elected Trustees serve an initial four-year term with the possibility of continuing for a second term if supported by the Board. GA Trustee positions are not remunerated but travel and subsistence expenses are reimbursed. Nominees for the role of Elected Trustee must be members of the GA and will be asked to show that they actively uphold and support the aims, values and mission of the Association.
Trustees welcome the nominations of colleagues from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences that can strengthen and complement the existing Board of Trustees.
For example, this might include those in their early/mid teaching career stage, school leaders, primary colleagues and/or those with experience of leading the geography programme of a MAT.
The deadline for the current round of nominations is Monday 4 May 2026.
If you have any questions about being a GA trustee, please contact the current Chair of Trustees, Alastair Owens via a.j.owens@qmul.ac.uk.
One of the main reasons I go to the GA Conference is that I try to see people who I don't otherwise see from one year to the next (or even longer).
As I've said before, a gathering of geographers is called a confluence. We are stronger when we flow together.
This year once again, I connected with former GA Presidents, including the wonderful Margaret Roberts and Bob Digby - who remain active despite being in their 80s.
At the special meal for longstanding members, there were quite a few former Presidents; Eleanor Rawling, Richard Daugherty, Chris Kington, Keith Grimwade, John Hopkin plus Catherine Owen. Good to chat to David Balderstone and Paul Baker in particular, and catch up with Sandra Patterson.
It was also excellent to catch up with a whole host of other people including Justin Woolliscroft (who invited me up to Hull University each year when he was leading the PGCE course there. He also provided me with a handbook for my department to save me writing one from scratch. He was also heavily involved in the OCR Pilot GCSE Geography. (I have a blog about that too....)
He was talking to Sue Warn - an 'A' level examiner legend.
I had a good chat with David Preece, who is the Head of Geography for Teach First. He was a member of the RGS Education Committee which I chair and always provided thorough and thought provoking contributions to our meetings.
Cath Rule and Rayburn Tours were there, handing out posters and details of their tours.
Paula Richardson spoke to me about the 5th National Festival of Fieldworkwhich she is spearheading as always. The first one was held during my GA Presidential year and it's a great initiative. Get involved!
Ahead of the session that Matt Podbury and I were presenting I also got a chance to meet Daryl Sinclair, who was part of the team that created the Discover Geography series.
David Wood and Catherine Souch from the RGS were at the GA Awards as were the Time for Geography team - who were picking up more awards for their excellent films. Simon and Rachel were on the RGS stand. Ashley and colleague were here from the Geological Society.
Helen Young was also there to present on the Roblox resources on the BBC.
There were many more conversations during the day and a half that I was there, but I hope this gives you an idea of the great people you can bump into and chat too if you attend the conference... apologies to the great many other fine geographers who aren't mentioned in this post... catch you next year!
Prior to that Matt and I sat in the exhibition area and spoke to lots and lots of geographers.
We had been given a room that was too small. The Sched app was telling us that it would be overflowing and we tried to fit as many people in the room as we could - around 40.
It would be great if anyone reading this was able to fill in the Google Form below to help me with some of the posts I've been producing. There are also plenty of other forms on the blog in places.
The 2026 GA Conference was held at Sheffield College - a departure from the usual venue at Sheffield Hallam University. This is a short 10 minute walk from the railway station - going out the back entrance.
I drove up from Norfolk and immediately started seeing people I knew: former work colleagues, present work colleagues, Steve Brace the GA CEO and exhibitors from various publishers and organisations I've worked with over the years.
The weather was warming up very quickly!
It was good to see the Collins stand had a prominent display of our Discover Geography books, and also the iGCSE Geography book that I was series editor for which was published last March. There was some publicity and order forms for the books as well, so hopefully they will be heading into classrooms soon.
After some chats it was out for the "long standing members" meal, which I am invited to each year. This time we had a minibus to take us to the restaurant in the Winter Gardens, opposite the Crucible Theatre, which was getting prepared for the World Championship Snooker there, starting next weekend. It was a lovely meal and there were 8 former GA Presidents sat at the table, and some other guests and people. All the Presidents are featured on the GA Presidents blog of course.
One idea I had is to revisit those I can and ask them for an update perhaps.
I had the chance to catch up with several people I only see at this event.
Back to the conference venue, where I had a chat about the National Festival of Fieldwork in June.
I then went to check-in to my hotel and came back via the Graves Gallery and Winter Gardens and some light shopping.
The GA Awards went well. It was good to see David Gardner received the Honorary Membership.
Time for Geography went away with a whole host of Silver Awards.
One of the parts of the GA Conference that is a little bit different is the Future Geographers event.
This is curated and chaired by the Vice President of the GA, which this year is Fiona Sheriff.
Future Geographers is a special conference programme of talks and activities designed specially for students aged 16–18. Each session will enthuse them about geography and its wide-ranging applications, enable them to think beyond school toward university and possible careers in geography.
Teachers are invited to bring up to six students each to the GA Annual Conference on Friday 10 April 2026, where they will take part in their own programme of sessions, including workshops and special talks with young geographers, influencers and academics.
Places are free of charge and available to students of GA members only.
One teacher must be booked to attend Conference as a delegate to secure the places.
Two annual RGS competitions were launched earlier today.
The Young Geographer of the Year is the Royal Geographical Society's annual geography competition for students, recognising the outstanding work of the next generation of geographers.
With its age ranges spanning the primary years to A Level, the competition encourages thoughtful and creative responses to a new theme each year.
Schools are encouraged to run their own in-house competitions before submitting their top 10 entries to the international competition.
The Young Geographer of the Year Award has been running for over 20 years, and each year thousands of children from across the world take part.
The Rex Walford Award is for trainees or teachers in the first six years of their career, including students enrolled on a PGCE, SCITT, Teach First and School Direct, alongside ECTs and other colleagues in early career stages.
The award was named after Rex Walford.
Rex was a teacher, a natural enthusiast, a leading international name in geography education, a long-serving Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and one of the first group of Chartered Geographers. He supported the Royal Geographical Society in many ways over more than 25 years and was also a former President of the Geographical Association.
Reflecting the late Rex Walford’s passion for training new geography teachers to inspire their students in their subject, it is awarded for the best set of teaching resources and lesson plans developed on the same theme as the Young Geographer of the Year competition.
The theme for both of this year’s competitions is:
From Source to Sea. Let’s explore the world’s river systems
If you want to have your students enter the YGOTY, here are the details:
Rivers are the lifeblood of our planet, carrying water, nutrients and energy across vast distances. They sustain communities, support wildlife, and shape the landscapes we depend on to live. From the smallest stream to the widest river, these flowing waters connect mountains to oceans and people to nature.
They remind us that a sustainable and thriving environment is not just a resource, but a responsibility that we all share. As we learn more about the world’s rivers, we also understand that it is our duty to protect them for future generations.
As they transport freshwater across continents, sustaining ecosystems, wildlife, and the billions of people who rely on them for drinking water, rivers also shape our landscapes through erosion and deposition.
Carving valleys, forming striking features, creating fertile floodplains ideal for farming and influencing settlement, rivers provide physical boundaries between places and have also facilitated the growth of many of the urban areas we inhabit today.
Rivers play a key role in the global water cycle, carrying rainfall from source to sea and helping to regulate climate. They provide transportation opportunities, trade routes, tourism, recreation and sustain the lives of a wide range of species, supporting fish, birds, mammals, and countless aquatic organisms.
But rivers can also be a source of conflict: where water is a shared commodity ‘water wars’ can be common. When flood management or hydroelectric power produced by dams happens upstream, dire consequences can fall on countries located downstream.
And who owns this water? Industry and the misuse of rivers can lead to pollution and the degradation of river ecosystems, threatening both wildlife and the communities that depend on rivers to live.
Flooding is a big issue, and the management of rivers to predict, mitigate and prevent the impacts of flooding is essential for protecting communities, safeguarding ecosystems, and reducing long‑term environmental and economic damage. Show us what you know about rivers
We invite you to create a poster (or Esri StoryMap for KS5) that explores rivers, showcasing the processes that shape them, the features they create, and the many ways they are used by both people and nature.
We are looking for eye-catching, creative and informative posters and StoryMaps that delve into topics such as energy production, conflict, ecosystems, sustainability, trade and more.
We want to see you demonstrate your understanding of why our rivers are so important.
Your posters and StoryMaps should think about themes across human and physical geography.
For those teachers wanting to enter the Rex Walford Award, here are the details:
Remember that the Rex Walford Award is for trainees or teachers in the first six years of their career, including students enrolled on a PGCE, SCITT, Teach First and School Direct, alongside ECTs and other colleagues in early career stages.
We are interested to see lesson plans and accompanying resources that link directly to the curriculum and encourage students to think about any of the following:
A range of named rivers, showcasing the processes that shape them, the features they create, and the many ways they are used by both people and nature.
Curriculum topics such as energy production, conflict, ecosystems, sustainability, trade and more – we want to see how your resources help young people to understand why our rivers are so important.
They discuss the topic of geography teaching in schools and how to develop, implement and support a high quality geography curriculum. They also talk about how teachers can be supported to create a curriculum that works for their cohort first of all and ways that long term teachers can break out of the cycle of teaching the same topics the same way, year on year.
The deliberate decisions people make are important. What questions are we asking?
The best curriculums are designed so that there is a coherence to them.
Mark unpicks the example of hydrology in KS3, and explains why fieldwork is also critical to the subject.
He talks about the work he did when writing a book about generative learning, using the SOI system, and also the importance of CPD.
The later stage of the talk moves towards the Discover Geography series - this is an International series and there are some issues.
You need to make it very clear what the purpose of the learning is (the intent), the misconceptions that people bring to classrooms, and help explaining complex ideas with analogies.
This is well worth listening to... check out the archive of previous issues as well.
From Source to Sea.
