Southampton, UK, November 30, 2007: More than 9 out of 10 local authority schools will receive free maps, up 2% from last year, with nearly 700,000 children benefiting. It means that 4.4 million maps will have been distributed since the initiative began in 2002.
The figures were announced by the national mapping agency’s Director General and Chief Executive, Vanessa Lawrence, at a special House of Commons reception to celebrate the teaching and learning of geography.
The Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, and the television presenter Michael Palin joined educationalists, geographers and MPs at the reception. The aim was to promote the Action Plan for Geography, a two-year programme of support for geography in English schools led jointly by the Geographical Association and the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG). Ordnance Survey’s free-maps-for-schools initiative reflects the action plan’s vision of ensuring pupils enjoy and succeed in geography.
“Feedback from pupils, parents and teachers shows that the maps are an invaluable extra resource for classroom exercises, homework, projects and fieldwork,” said Dr Lawrence. “Schools are making innovative use of the maps and pupils are gaining real confidence in map reading, which will serve them well throughout their lives.”
Rita Gardner, Director of the Royal Geographical Society, said geography informed the social, economic and environmental processes that shape neighbourhood, regional and international development. As such, it was a vital subject involving issues around sustainability, diversity and climate change.
Ordnance Survey is keen to make the free maps initiative as inclusive as possible. Teachers of children with visual impairment are being encouraged to download free extracts of the same 1: 25,000 scale information shown on the maps from the Get-a-map service on Ordnance Survey’s website.
