RGS-IBG Rex Walford Award 2025

Running alongside the Young Geographer of the Year award, which is aimed at students, there is one for early career teachers: the Rex Walford Award.

Here is the blog entry that I wrote for Rex on my GA Presidents blog.

As I mentioned, Rex used to come and visit Homerton College PGCE students at my school back in the 80s and 90s. His obituary in The Guardian newspaper described him as “A teacher who made geography fun”

Image: Alan Parkinson

There was an RGS Obituary too.

He was at the heart of many GA initiatives as well as guiding the work of the RGS-IBG to support education. He came up with the project ‘Geography through the Window’ along with Ashley Kent, Worldwise Week etc. and he also supported CGeog. and other RGS-IBG work.

Each year, the winner is an ECT who is asked to produce a resource on the same theme as the Young Geographer of the Year competition.

The theme is:

Understanding islands

It is estimated that our planet contains almost 670,000 islands, of which around 11,000 are permanently inhabited. Islands have a unique geography; their landscapes and coastlines vary massively – some are home to volcanoes; others are barely above sea level. Some are barren, deserts or rocky outcrops, others lush vegetation havens for a range of unique wildlife and plant species. There are islands seen by many as popular holiday destinations, and there are others that are inaccessible or many miles from civilisation. Every island is unique, and every island has its challenges.

Details of the competition.

For this year’s Rex Walford Award, we are asking trainee or early career geography teachers to create a short scheme of work which encourages their students to create their own poster (or Esri StoryMap for KS5) on the theme ‘Understanding Islands’ and enter it into our Young Geographer of the Year competition 2025. We are interested to see lesson plans and accompanying resources that link directly to the curriculum and encourage students to think about:

• Islands that demonstrate the geographical processes, topics and themes that they learn about through geography.
• The similarities and differences between islands, what connects them and what makes them unique.
• How the unique geography of islands can differ depending on socio-economic, political, environmental and physical aspects.
• The challenges that islands face, and the solutions presented to them at local, national and international scales.

Entering the competition

The Rex Walford Award is for trainees or teachers who are in an early career stage (ideally first five years), including students enrolled on a PGCE, SCITT or School Direct programmes, alongside Teach First geographers, NQTs and colleagues at any other early career stage.

Entrants are asked to produce a scheme of work, including at least three lessons, that explores the theme of ‘Understanding Islands’. We would also be interested to see (where possible) examples of pupils’ work that has resulted from the lessons, and hope that entrants encourage their students to create and submit entries for our Young Geographer of the Year competition 2025 which focuses on the same theme.

The scheme of work created can be aimed at any Key Stage eligible to enter the Young Geographer of the Year competition, and must include:

• A short scheme of work
• At least 3 lesson plans
• Resources to accompany those lessons
• Examples of pupil work if possible

The deadline for receipt of all Rex Walford Award entries is Friday 3 October 2025 at 5.00pm.

Entries received after this time will not be accepted.

As an extra bonus, if you do win you'll get to me!