Whether it’s helping school students see what doing geography at university is really like, supporting careers fairs, taking part in revision sessions or even supervising fieldwork, the Geography Ambassador scheme is a key Society programme for engaging and supporting the next generation of geographers.
The scheme recruits, trains and supports undergraduate, postgraduate and graduate geographers to act as ambassadors for geography in the classroom and beyond. Sharing their passion and enthusiasm for the subject during school visits, Ambassadors inspire students to continue studying geography at GSCE, AS/A Level and university.
The Society’s coordinator of the scheme, Simon Faulkner, will be visiting universities across England and Wales over the next few months to run sessions for the next intake of Geography Ambassadors. The training is lively and hands on with the aim of ensuring Ambassadors are clear and comfortable in their new role and confident enough to deliver a session to a group of secondary school students.
Leicester Geography Ambassador Tanith Ludlam describes her experiences: “Through being a Geography ambassador I have had the opportunity to further develop a wide number of important and transferable skills. Most notably, the ability to communicate with a variety of people, give presentations and organise events.’
After the training, Ambassadors agree to undertake five school visits over the coming year - a total commitment of 20-25 hours - and receive continuing support and advice from Simon and the Education team at the Society. The scheme also reimburses all costs incurred by Ambassadors, including travel to schools and training.
“I think that having a visit from Geography Ambassador can inject variety and a different kind of energy into the geography classroom that is interesting for students and teachers, and can help to inspire more people to choose the subject”, says Sussex/Leeds Geography Ambassador Clare Linton. “I became an ambassador because I wanted to pass on my passion for geography to the next generation of geographers and hopefully inspire people to take the subject and understand the opportunities that studying geography can provide.”