Making My Place in the World
About the project
Making My Place in the World is funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and aims to help students develop speaking and listening skills and geographical knowledge by exploring their local area.
It builds on past and current GA projects including Where Will I Live, Making Geography Happen, Young People's Geographies and Living Geography which endeavour to make school geography directly relevant to young people's lives.
Project aims
The aims of the project are wide-ranging and not restricted to geography:
Developing speaking and listening skills - by exploring the students' own areas they take on the role of 'expert' and can share their specialist knowledge with teachers, members of the community and other students. This will lead to increased confidence, self-esteem and improved speaking and listening skills.
Learning about the local area - by engaging in units of work about familiar areas, taking part in field visits and speaking to local experts, students will find out more about the places they use on a regular basis.
Career aspirations - by talking to professionals such as architects, town planners and developers, the project also aims to inspire students about the range of career options available to them connected with creating and improving places.
Influence in the local community - by meeting with councillors and local residents, students will begin to realise that they can influence change within their own communities.
Project participants
Four schools are taking part in the project - Bury CofE High School in Bury, Newall Green High School in Manchester and High Storrs School and Silverdale School in Sheffield. The students are a mixture of Year 9s, 10s and 11s.
The project is led by two Community Geographers - John Lyon and Sue Bermingham - who will support teachers, develop resources and liaise with the local community.
Project outcomes
The results of Making My Place in the World will be shared here including:
- Case studies of the individual school projects
- Video diaries from participating students
- A toolkit to help geography teachers introduce similar units of work into their schools
- A report from the Project Evaluator
Further information
Contact John Lyon to find out more about Making My Place in the World.
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