CALLINGTON Community College is celebrating achieving Centre of Excellence status in the subject of geography.

The college was awarded its Secondary Geography Quality Mark (SGQM) in September and has now been awarded the Secondary Geography Quality Mark with Centre of Excellence status. It is the first school in Cornwall to have received the award and to become a Centre of Excellence.

More than 371 SGQM awards have been presented since the scheme’s launch in 2006, with only 46 centres being awarded the Centre of Excellence status. The Geography Association says these ‘hubs of excellence’ are pivotal to its aim of spreading good practice in the subject through the development of local networks of teachers.

In schools like Callington Community College, it says, the teaching of geography ‘is managed by enthusiastic curriculum leaders who are able to inspire their colleagues’.

The college has been congratulated on running Global Learning Programme training for primary teachers from its local feeder schools, an initiative helping the sharing of good practice in the area. Huw Pring, head of geography at the college, said: ‘I am very proud of the students and staff in achieving the award. We have had a shared vision to gain this award and to be part of only a few schools that have achieved the Centre of Excellence means a lot to me.

‘While applying for the award we have improved the standards of teaching and learning in the geography department through creating engaging and inspiring lessons and fieldwork. We also have developed links outside the college with running a Year 6 induction day and the current work with primary teachers. I look forward to further develop these opportunities in the future.’

Alan Kinder, Chief Executive of the GA, says: ‘There has never been a more important time for all children and young people to study geography. Growing up in the 21st century means living in an increasingly interconnected world, one facing a growing number of global challenges such as climate change and the need to live our lives sustainably.

‘Geography not only fascinates and inspires young people, it provides them with the knowledge and understanding they need to live in the modern world.’