Young Geographer of the Year winners announced

The Society recognises the outstanding work of the next generation of geographers each year through our Young Geographer of the Year competition, which encourages young people to think creatively and analytically about geographical themes.

The theme for 2024 was Choose geography, with pupils aged from seven to 18 invited to create striking and informative posters that demonstrate the relevance of geography and how studying it can help you understand the world we live in and the global challenges we face as a society.

With schools hosting their own heats and submitting only their winners, the 1,000 entries received by the Society represented just a fraction of the overall number of participating students.

The judges were looking for creative and engaging posters that highlighted the wide range of jobs that geographers do and how geographers make a difference. They selected 16 young people for recognition, with two winners and two highly commended entries selected for each age category.

The category winners

KS2 (7-11 years)

Aarav Kumar, Queen Elizabeth's School in Barnet

Bella Stewart Walhampton School in Lymington

KS3 (11-14 years)

Aksh Rawal, Wilson's School in Wallington

Libby Hudson, Putney High School in London

KS4 (14-16 years)

Thomas Hurley, Diss High School in Norfolk

Audrey King, Downe House, Berkshire

A Level or equivalent (16-18 years)

Zoe Parker, Rugby High School, Warwickshire

Myrto Kasselaki, Berlin Metropolitan School, Germany

Professor Joe Smith, Director of the Society said: “Congratulations to the winners and everyone who took part in the competition. I am always impressed by the creativity on show in the entries to Young Geographer of the Year, and it is no different this year. The students have clearly demonstrated how geographical skills and thinking are vital for addressing global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss, and they give me hope that the next generation of geographers is well equipped to drive forward the changes needed to ensure a sustainable future for us all.”

The Rex Walford Award, which runs alongside Young Geographer of the Year, recognises teachers currently completing their teacher training or who have just started their careers. This year's winner, Beatrice Spicer from Orleans Park School in Twickenham, produced an innovative and engaging scheme of work that encouraged her students to create their own Choose geography poster and enter the Young Geographer of the Year competition.

Alan Parkinson, the Society’s Vice President for Education said: “Highly skilled and enthusiastic geography teachers are vital for developing the geographical knowledge and understanding of young people. Beatrice’s scheme of work demonstrated how inspiring geography lessons can be and how her students are being well prepared for the future.”

The 2024 Young Geographers of the Year and Rex Walford Award winner were awarded their certificates by Alan Parkinson at a ceremony held at the Society on Friday 29 November.

The Young Geographer of the Year competition and the Rex Walford Award is run by the Society in conjunction with Geographical magazine and is kindly supported by Esri UK, Ordnance Survey and Philip’s Atlases.

The full list of winners and highly commended pupils and their entries to Young Geographer of the Year 2024 is on our website.

Browse winning entries