Danielle Allen-Chhokar, Bromley High, Highly Commended in national Young Geographer of the Year competition

Danielle Allen-Chhokar, Lower Sixth, Bromley High, has won Highly Commended in the national ‘Young Geographer of the Year’ competition.

The winners of the 2016 ‘Young Geographers of the Year’ competition were announced on Friday 25 November, after answering the question ‘How is Britain changing?’

Danielle was presented with her Highly Commended award at the Royal Society by Steve Brace FRGS, Head of Education and Outdoor Learning at the Society.

“I am absolutely thrilled to have been awarded Highly Commended, Young Geographer of the Year 2016. It was such an honour to have been given the opportunity to have renowned geographers read my work and present me with my award at the Royal Geographical Society itself!” Danielle Allen-Chhokar

Christina Bird, Joint Head of Geography at Bromley High School, commented, “Danielle is to be congratulated on winning this high profile national award as there were nearly 1000 entries.”

‘Young Geographer of the Year’ is a national competition run by the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) to encourage pupils to engage with geographical issues. Each year, the competition receives entries from thousands of pupils from hundreds of schools.

This year’s ‘Young Geographer of the Year’ competition was an opportunity for geography pupils to explore how Britain is changing. The winners and their entries can be viewed on the Royal National Geographical Society’s website

Steve Brace, the Society’s Head of Education and Outdoor Learning, said: “This year students explored geographical change from many different perspectives. We were incredibly impressed with the entries we received. Many focused on how Britain’s physical features are changing in response to a wide range of geographical processes, while others focused on social, cultural or political change.”

Dr Rita Gardner CBE, Director of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), said: “With humans now being recognised as the driving influence on our environment, and at a time of significant social change, it’s more important than ever that the next generation of geographers are able to identify and analyse geographical change. We’re delighted to see so many pupils considering how Britain is changing in such a thoughtful and knowledgeable way.”

The Society’s Young Geographer of the Year competition recognises the best entries across four categories: Key Stage 2 (students aged 9-11); Key Stage 3 (11-14); Key Stage 4 or GCSE (14-16); and Key Stage 5 or A Level (16-18).

Pupils in the first three categories were asked to submit an annotated diagram or poster, while A Level pupils were asked to submit a 1,500 word essay, which could include illustrations, maps or graphs.