01 October 2003

Bell rings for schools' registration

Race is on to claim free maps for 11-year-olds as orders reach 600,000

Time is running out for head teachers to register for one of the biggest educational initiatives of its kind – the offer of a free Ordnance Survey Explorer map for every Year 7 pupil (Primary 7 in Scotland) to support learning and take home as their own.

To claim, schools across Britain must register online with the mapping agency before 10 October 2003, as Ordnance Survey has to organise the printing of hundreds of thousands of maps to satisfy demand.

“We have already despatched around a quarter of a million maps to schools – who have been ordering since the beginning of autumn term,” says Elaine Owen, Ordnance Survey’s senior education manager. “And with just over a week left, more than 600,000 maps have been ordered.”

“That’s a great response but we believe that around 800,000 children are eligible nationally and we’d like them all to have a detailed Ordnance Survey Explorer map of their own. We can only do that if schools order by the deadline date, so that we can process the requests, print out the maps and deliver them all as early in the academic year as possible.”

Most schools are ordering maps – each worth £6.99 – based on their local area, so that their pupils can get the most out of exploring and enjoying their own locality as well as for study at school.

For more information and to order, teachers should visit Ordnance Survey’s website at http://www.freemaps4schools.co.uk/

Free Maps for 11 year olds

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Chief Press Officer - Scott Sinclair

Email: scott.sinclair@ordnancesurvey.co.uk

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