GeogPod reaches 100

GeogPod has reached #100 and there is a special episode to listen to. 

It is also sponsored by Collins and Discover Geography coincidentally.

Mark Enser was interviewed by John Lyon. 

Listen to it here.

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.

It mentions Mark's Substack.

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.

GEO Resources moved to the main GA website

The GEO project: Geography Education Online is ending and the resources that were created for it - including some that I was pleased to work on - are all being added to the GA website for members to access.

Details in the image below - shared earlier by Steve Brace.

Use the filters here to find them.

GeoLincs - 18th March

GeoLincs is the South Lincolnshire GA Branch. I visited when it was in Bourne, back in 2015 in an early meeting of the branch. I'd just taken over as Head of Geography at King's Ely Junior (now Prep) and took a drive over to speak to a good group of teachers. I'm heading back there next month.

Via LinkedIn from Dr. Aidan Hesslewood, who is a fellow moderator on the GA's Secondary Geography Quality Mark moderation team.

The second Geolincs session of this academic year is approaching, and we have Richard Bustin and Alan Parkinson coming along to share lots of important ideas: Wednesday 18th March, from 1400-1700 (light refreshments included) at Spalding Grammar School.

I’m really excited to welcome Alan back to the branch (he last spoke in 2015) and to Richard for the first time, and I hope you can join us for a stimulating afternoon of geography curriculum discussion, particularly in light of upcoming reforms. This session will be suitable for all: student teachers, teachers, subject leads, and senior leaders.

Feel free to message me here if you'd like to come along.

Geolincs (the GA branch for South Lincs and surrounding counties) aims to sustain excellence in geography education in Lincolnshire and the surrounding counties. It is a non-profit network that provides opportunities for professional growth and events are completely free to attend. 

It endeavours to:
· Explore and develop teaching expertise and subject knowledge
· Share ideas through participation and networking
· Provide a forum for debate and discussion

Here's the title slide from my presentation. Hope to see some of you there.

RIP

As you know, we try to mark the passing of significant people in the GA's history on this blog - not all of whom were Presidents of course.

The Spring 2026 edition of the GA Newsletter also contained details of the passing of three people who were very much involved with the GA: Michael Naish, Russell Feaver and Marjorie Woodward.

Images copyright: Geographical Association

To read every edition of the GA Magazine, join the GA.

Staff changes at Solly Street

The Spring editions of the GA's journals are now out, and the GA Magazine has a staffing update - and a new look.

I wish Isabel Richardson all the best for her new role and adventure. 

She was very important to my own GA Presidential journey as the CPD and Events co-ordinator she got me involved in lots of GA activity as well as organising my conference at the University of Surrey in Guildford in 2022 - a hybrid event which added extra complexity to the proceedings.

She was also busy resorting the GA Archive and also helping with finalising the Geographer's Gaze project which I was part of.

Good luck to Liam who takes over the role. I look forward to catching up at the GA Conference in Sheffield in a couple of months' time.

Fiona Sheriff and the Open University

Fiona Sheriff is the current Vice President of the Geographical Association. She will take over as President in September 2026.

Fiona has previously shared her journey through the Open University on a LinkedIn post. This sort of detail will probably end up in her entry on the GA Presidents blog - which is a while off yet.

"When I started studying for my A Levels back in 2004 I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. Not all of my friends wanted to go to university, and it wasn’t the ‘normal’ thing to do where I lived. A few things happened during my A Levels which meant I missed large chunks of tuition and really struggled catching up. This meant I finished with 2 A Levels and 2 AS levels. My best grade was Geography, and my teacher Anna was so kind and supportive along the way.

Fast forward to mid 2007 and I saw an advert for OU on the TV. 

I knew I didn’t have enough UCAS points for a traditional uni route so looked up the OU, as despite my A level results, I loved learning and felt I wanted to do a degree ‘for fun’.

At the time there were no tuition fees, just course fees for each unit. As I came from a low income family I received financial support which included money to buy a laptop. I think I paid around £500 for my whole degree.

I switched and changed units a fair amount and decided that the ‘open’ route was best for me, so that I could study units which interested me - these just happened to be mostly geographically themed. I worked full time throughout the 5 years I studied for and graduated in 2013 at a lovely ceremony at the Barbican in London.

What did my OU degree teach me?

• Resilience - it isn’t easy studying and working full time! Many an essay was written in small chunks over time (sometimes at 3am!)
• To be adaptable - not everything always go to plan
• To be resourceful - looking further afield than the associated materials, which can be hard when you don’t have a tutor to catch up with in-person
• To be grateful for different education opportunities.
• That anyone can get a degree with the right support. Your A levels do not define you.

18 year old me, with her very short list of A levels results never thought she would be a teacher, head of department, a ‘go-to’ person for geography, an author, a leader of CPD, a Fellow, a consultant or the Vice-President of the Geographical Association .

Without the OU I wouldn’t have my degree and my path would have looked incredibly different. There are routes to higher education qualifications, and sometimes it might seem like a degree is unobtainable. But do check out the OU. I am very grateful for my time studying with them."

This is a great reminder of the value of lifelong learning.

Many previous GA Presidents were connected with universities for most of their careers.

Current ways of studying are very different to back then.

There are also plenty of links with the Open University and the Geographical Association (and the Royal Geographical Society).

One of my first acts when joining the GA in 2008 was to travel with David Lambert to a meeting with the late Clive Barnett and the late Doreen Massey. The other person in that meeting was Professor Joe Smith - now Director of the Royal Geographical Society!