The theme for the Young Geographer of the Year competition 2025 is:

Understanding islands

Let’s take a closer look at the World’s 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.

The geography of islands is an interesting one. Some are threatened by climate change and issues such as sea level rise, and through this are embroiled in the geopolitics of the climate emergency and the mitigation strategies implemented through both international policies and local-level action. The people who live on islands face a range of socio-economic, cultural or historical challenges, from over-use of their towns and cities by tourists, to access to resources, clean water or adequate living conditions. The ‘ownership’ of some islands is contested; some are protected, others are fought over because of their geopolitical or strategic significance. In some places, islands are being created to meet the need for more space to satisfy our growing population. By exploring and understanding islands, including the island we live on, we can unlock a multitude of geographical themes and connections across people, places and environments.

The Society invites you to create a poster (Esri StoryMap or poster for KS5 entrants) to explore islands and highlight the geographical themes, challenges and solutions that connect across both human and physical geography to make islands unique. We are looking for eye catching, creative and informative posters and StoryMaps that delve into the socio-economic, cultural, political and physical aspects of a range of islands, showcasing their features and exploring how islands can be connected through the challenges that they face and the solutions they use to address those challenges. Your posters and StoryMaps should think about geographical themes across people, places and environments.

Entering the competition 

The competition has four categories.

• Key Stage 2 (pupils aged 7-11)
• Key Stage 3 (pupils aged 11-14)
• Key Stage 4 or GCSE (pupils aged 14-16)
• Key Stage 5 or A Level (pupils aged 16-18)

Students should enter the Key Stage category they are in on the day they submit their entry.

Entries should be created individually by students – entries created by groups of students will not be accepted. 

Entries from all schools, UK and international, are being accepted. 

Please view the competition guidelines for full details about entry criteria.

There are two submission pathways. We will be asking participants to provide details of their school type when they submit their entry, and participants will need to fill in the correct online form that matches their school type and then upload their documents into the correct file area. Entries submitted into the wrong school type folder when uploading may be discounted. We will be selecting one winner and one highly commended entry for each age category from entries from state funded schools, and one winner and one highly commended entry for each age category from entries from independent and international schools. International schools that are not fee-paying should still enter via the international school route.

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

Submit your entries

Step 1: For UK state funded schools

Step 1: For independent and international schools

Please ensure that you:
1.    Use the correct form above for your school type
2.    Do not submit your details into this form until you are ready to also upload your entries into our file system (ie there is no need to pre-register to take part).
3.    Refer to our guidelines document (in the downloads box) for full information about criteria and submission codes.

We request that entries are submitted in good time and not left until the final submission day to be uploaded. 

Due to the volume of entries the Society cannot enter into correspondence about individual entries or provide feedback. We will contact you/your student if you/they are selected as a winner. All winners and highly commended students will be invited to an Awards Ceremony at the Society in London on Friday 5 December 2025.

Important information regarding images: Any images used on the posters MUST have the relevant permissions. Please do not just take images from the internet without getting the correct permissions from the image owner. We recommend that sites such as Unsplash, Pixabay and Flickr are used. All images must be credited on the entry. Entries may be discounted if we are unable to guarantee that the images used are copyright free or have the correct permissions to be published in such a way.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about the competition, please refer to the competitions guidelines document (available in the downloads box) in the first instance. If this document does not answer your question, please email us at competitions@rgs.org