06 September 2006

Geography in schools boosted by maps mission

Research published today shows that Ordnance Survey’s Free maps for 11-year-olds initiative is having an exceedingly positive effect on geography teaching and learning in schools.

This is the fifth year that Ordnance Survey has made available free OS Explorer Maps for Year 7 pupils, with more than 700,000 maps distributed across Great Britain each year. The map, worth £7.49, becomes the pupil’s personal property for use at home as well as school. By the end of this year’s scheme, a potential 3.8 million children overall will have benefited by having a map of their own to keep.          

Altogether, 17 separate studies have been carried out into the progress of the initiative, showing that it has significantly fostered the teaching and learning of geography and extended pupils’ understanding and enthusiasm for using maps.                                                                                                                                                                                                

The research found that since the launch of the initiative:
- the number of pupils confident in their understanding of maps has doubled;
- the number of pupils who enjoy using maps has trebled;
- the proportion of children who perceive maps as important has doubled; and
- 98% of teachers say the scheme had been ‘beneficial’ to geography teaching and learning in their school.

A study carried out for the initial year of the scheme, but published today for the first time, shows that children who go out and about in rural areas are more likely to become better map readers than those in urban areas.

In a series of tests, pupils were asked to draw a freehand sketch map and then to trace their home area and journey to school over a prepared plan of their neighbourhood. A range of criteria was assessed, such as cartographic style, the choice of features and the accuracy of their locations.  

The study showed that the mapping skills of pupils in inner urban schools were significantly more limited than those attending schools in rural areas. Also pupils who walk or cycle to school tended to have significantly higher standards of map-reading skills than those driven on the home-school run. Children who travelled more widely in their neighbourhoods by walking or cycling became more aware of their surroundings and so may go on to develop better map skills.

Roger Jeans, Ordnance Survey’s Education Manager, says: “While there will probably always be a difference in the map-reading skills of rural and city schoolchildren, our Free maps for 11-year-olds scheme has been successful in improving map understanding across the board, with pupils in urban areas benefiting more than most.”

The first pupils who received their free maps when the scheme was launched in 2002 will be taking their GCSE examinations during the current school year. Research based on the exam results will be used by Ordnance Survey to further evaluate the success of scheme.

The report ‘Mapped Out – Free Maps for 11-year-olds’ can be found on the Ordnance Survey website at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/education/teachingresources/index.html

Schools returning for the autumn term have already begun registering for this year’s free maps scheme. To take advantage, teachers must place their order online by 31 October 2006 at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/freemapsfor11yearolds.

As well as receiving free maps this year, pupils can enter a competition to win a fabulous day out with Channel 4 Television's Time Team, which uses Ordnance Survey information in the investigation of their dig sites. The winners will attend the filming of a dig, meet the team and see all the work that goes into making these programmes. Entry forms accompany the delivery of the maps. 

“These maps are a fantastic free resource for pupils and staff,” says Trevor Gray, Head Teacher at Cairns Primary School in Cambuslang, Scotland. “They provide a great link with the environment around the school and can really help develop children’s mapping skills. Because the children can take their map out of school, they can use it to follow up on class work at home. Parents are really appreciative, and because the maps are local that makes it all the more relevant.”

Millions of people use OS Explorer Maps for walking and other outdoor activities because of the remarkable amount of landscape detail they show – every hamlet, village and town along with tracks, paths, field walls and hill contours. They are published at a scale of 1:25,000, which means 4 cm on the map equals 1 km on the ground (2½ inches equals 1 mile). Each map covers at least 600 sq km (230 sq miles) of land.

Ordnance Survey’s website for children – www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/mapzone – is playing an increasingly important role in the free maps scheme by offering interactive games and activities online. It recently won a gold award from the Geographical Association for the quality of its GIS Zone learning resource. 

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Chief Press Officer - Scott Sinclair

Email: scott.sinclair@ordnancesurvey.co.uk

Phone: (+44) 023 8079 2265

Senior Press Officer - Bryn Jones

Email: bryn.jones@ordnancesurvey.co.uk

Phone: (+44) 023 8079 2708

Press Office fax: (+44) 023 8030 5295