GA Annual Conference 2026

An active session focusing on strategies used in ITE at the University of Worcester to normalise nature connection, from origami and storytelling to 'nature natter' cards. The session will explore the rationale for building nature literacy into our classroom spaces and processes, highlighting the five pathways to nature connectedness, as well as inviting participants to try a variety of activities, develop their own 'nature natter' questions and communities of practice, and engage their imaginations in ways to normalise nature for ourselves and our pupils. 

Music is a dynamic, everyday phenomenon that connects people, places and cultures. It offers a powerful lens through which to understand the world and our place within it. From local rhythms to global genres, music and its associated visuals provide students and teachers with meaningful insights into diverse environments that help shape their worldview. For this collaborative session, Matt will share how an idea to showcase his vinyl collection evolved into a rich, three-week unit on the geography of music for KS3 students. This explores themes such as sense of place, landscape and emotion, and the role of music in shaping our cultural identity, and addresses how music can be both a unifying and divisive force. Alan will share his new World of Music blog, which charts a year-long journey through curriculum resources and collaborative pedagogy around music and its meanings; a playlist of ideas for teaching everyday geographies. You will gain practical ideas, resources and inspiration for incorporating music into your own geography curriculum. This one goes up to 11!

The 2025 Curriculum Review recognises the need for an innovative, enriching, locally tailored and inclusive curriculum in which ‘all young people can see themselves represented’. Esri UK are working with Project Hidden Sheffield to share a Sheffield-based Y8 scheme of work on decolonising Africa, including activities focusing on ‘should objects looted from Benin be returned’? and a digital story-map of Sheffield’s links with Empire. Join our workshop to explore the tools and approaches developed by Project Hidden Sheffield.

This session will explore strategies to use models, hierarchies and categories in a way that challenges their power to marginalise and misrepresent countries, futures and, most importantly, the individuals in your classroom. By understanding the power held in typical geographical systems of classification, we can begin to see where these labels limit and misrepresent the potential for specific contexts and whole regions of the world, while also continuing to misrepresent and exclude the students who may identify with these regions and contexts. This session will share key resources and strategies for the classroom, giving time to consider their use, strengths and limitations. Participants will leave with deeper understanding, new strategies and more confidence to make their geography classrooms a more inclusive space.

This session will critically examine the widening gap between formal GCSE geography preparation and students’ capacity to engage with geography in real-world contexts. Drawing on 15+ years of teaching experience in Pakistan and recent PGCE training in the UK, Syed will explore how performance-focused school cultures often prioritise exam technique over conceptual understanding. Participants will reflect on how this exam-centric approach impacts pupils’ ability to connect geographical knowledge to their lived environments - from local spaces to global systems. Through discussion, classroom examples and comparative insights, the session will encourage teachers, leaders and curriculum developers to reconsider the balance between assessment outcomes and authentic geographical learning.

The National Education Nature Park empowers young people to improve school sites for people and wildlife, through geographically informed decision-making. Learners collect data for the Nature Park Map (an ArcGIS tool), guiding site improvements and contributing to groundbreaking research with the Natural History Museum. Discover how the programme builds core geographical skills and drives real change, and discuss context-specific implementation.

Discussions at previous GA Conferences and on online forums show that many teachers are unsure of their knowledge around geological components within geography. This session provides opportunity to improve understanding, both within geography units and more generally by making links to relevant news stories and contemporary issues, for instance the decisions being made by global leaders on critical minerals and the influence of geology on urban expansion. How are geography and geology making a difference in decisions being taken - and can we make better ones?

Join this interactive session to:

• Consider the Curriculum and Assessment Review panel’s recommendations for Geography.

• Share your feedback to help shape the future of A level Geography and the Independent Investigation (NEA).

• Learn about our updated guidance on the use of AI in the NEA.

Spark curiosity by connecting geography and science in the primary classroom. This interactive workshop explores where the (English) primary geography curriculum naturally overlaps with science: energy, climate and sustainability. Discover a dynamic (free) renewable energy resource that brings cross-curricular teaching to life, helping pupils make real-world links, think critically and get excited about the planet’s future.

This workshop will provide clear workable examples of how geography subject leaders can help geography to have a high profile and make a difference in a crowded curriculum by influencing their SLT and head teacher, and thereby the school, through whole-school approaches, which, with geography at their core, tick the boxes of skills and cross-curricular development.