Category: Geography

More For Teachers’ CPD video series released

Post author By Eleanor Pinches
Post date 20 May 2025

Back in 2021 we released the Weather and Climate Teachers’ guide, accompanied by resources for the classroom and teacher CPD.

We are now happy to announce that the CPD ‘More For Teachers’ documents are now available as a series of short films on our YouTube channel.

The videos, like the guide, are aimed at secondary geography teachers to support the delivery of weather and climate lessons to 11–14+ year old students. They are not linked to any specific curriculum and should support teaching across all of the UK.

See the first video here:

Blog Climate Change Curriculum Geography

New Climate Change, Extreme Weather and Adaptation Resource Collection

Post author By Sylvia Knight
Post date 30 April 2025

We are delighted to publish a new collection of classroom resources, aimed at 14-16 (GCSE) geography teachers and students, exploring climate change, extreme weather, and adaptation to it.

Some of the resources in the collection were already available on MetLink, but most have been created for us by Rob Gamesby (Cool Geography) and are based on RMetS funded research, just completed, by Jiashu Zhu at Cambridge University. The research focusses on the causes, impacts and effectiveness of adaptation measures to river flooding in Sheffield, Extreme heat (heatwaves) in Cambridge and monsoon flooding in Pakistan.

Teachers at the Geographical Association conference 2025 playing adaptation Top Trumps, one of the resources in the new collection

Article Blog Curriculum Extreme weather Geography Teaching

Storm Bert Blog: A case study navigating the truth about flooding

Post author By Eleanor Pinches
Post date 26 February 2025

The RMetS education team have written a guest blog for Geography Southwest. Geography Southwest is a project to promote geographical education in the South West of England and beyond by creating and offering a wide range of resources to support the wider geographical community.

Storm Bert: A case study navigating the truth about flooding in a changing climate details the lifetime of Storm Bert, which caused significant damage back in November 2024. In particular, flood damage caused by the River Taff (in Wales) bursting its banks, really highlighted the need to continue but also improve our adaptation methods.

In the blog we also address some of the misconceptions of how our weather here in the UK and weather further afield is changing. It is crucial that we understand what trends have been identified in our climate system by climate scientists, in order to develop and establish effective adaptation methods.

Make sure you follow the link at the bottom of the page to get the FULL blog!

We also recently wrote a careers article for Geography Southwest, exploring the term ‘green careers’, ‘green skills’ and available resource for students with an interest in a career in weather and climate, particularly with a geography background.

Make sure to scroll down to the button of the page to get the full article!

Blog Climate Change Geography

New Resource – Climate Change in Azerbaijan

Post author By Sylvia Knight
Post date 16 October 2024

COP29 will take place in Azerbaijan in November 2024.

Adapt these ideas to support your teaching in the weeks leading up to and during the conference to engage your students with the negotiations and where they are taking place.

The adaptable resource should let you pick ideas from a range which include climate zones, contour drawing, climate graphs, greenhouse gas emissions, map and graph skills in the context of Azerbaijan and climate justice.

Blog Geography Teaching

Free Online Weather and Climate CPD

Post author By Sylvia Knight
Post date 9 October 2024

Join over 40,000 people who have taken our free, online award winning weather and climate CPD course designed specifically for secondary geography teachers and A level students, Come Rain or Shine, which starts again on 9th October.

This is an opportunity for anyone who has previously taken the course, or who has attended one of our in person weather and climate subject knowledge days, to access the resources again without cost.

The course is now spread over 5 weeks to maximise the free access period, and features updated and additional material.

The learning objectives for the course are:

Describe the weather features associated with depressions, anticyclones and the four main air masses which affect the UK.
Interpret a synoptic or weather chart, to provide details about wind speed and direction, precipitation and cloud cover.
Describe some of the physical processes which give rise to weather, such as convection, condensation, pressure gradients and the Coriolis force.
Investigate local weather conditions using readily available instruments.
Explain some of the processes which transfer energy through the Earth system, including the transient effects of volcanoes and changes in the Earth’s orbit, and how these processes relate to the Earth’s climate.
Apply an understanding of mid-latitude weather systems to the analysis of weather data and images.

The course focuses on UK weather (depressions, air masses, anticyclones) through a mix of videos, text, practical exercises and fieldwork, and also explores the wider global picture. It takes about 2 hours per week over 5 weeks.

Due to changes in the FutureLearn platform, participants only get free access to the resources for a few weeks. We therefore suggest that you only register yourself or your students for the course on the day you want to start accessing the materials.

Blog Geography Research

State of the UK Climate 2023 Poster

Post author By Sylvia Knight
Post date 11 September 2024

Blog Climate Change Extreme weather Fieldwork Geography Microclimates Schools

New Resource: Heatwave Fieldwork in the School Estate

Post author By Sylvia Knight
Post date 10 June 2024

In conjunction with the Field Studies Council, we have developed a new, flexible resource for secondary geography lessons which allows students to explore the impact of, and potential for adaptation to, extreme heat events (heatwaves) in their schools – both inside and outside.

Launched in time for the 2024 National Festival of Fieldwork, these resources can also be used to give school Sustainability Leads some of the information they need when completing their Climate Action Plans.

Climate Climate Change CPD Geography Microclimates Schools Secondary Teaching Weather

Weather and Climate: updated Teachers’ CPD

Post author By Sylvia Knight
Post date 8 May 2024

Weather and Climate: a Teachers’ Guide

We have just updated and extended the ‘More for Teachers’ information associated with our award-winning Weather and Climate: a Teachers’ Guide. These information sheets are designed to provide CPD for teachers of geography who would like to improve or update their weather and climate subject knowledge.

The teachers’ guide and the accompanying online teaching resources, aim to give UK geography teachers all that they need to deliver relevant, engaging and thorough weather and climate lessons to 11–14+ year old students. They are not linked to any specific curriculum but should be easily adaptable to all.

There are 20 topics or chapters. Across these, there are three threads or paths which can be taken through the online resources, depending on the teaching time available:

Basic weather: Weather in our lives, weather measurements, weather and climate, global atmospheric circulation, global climate zones, air masses, pressure and wind and water in the atmosphere

Climate: Weather and climate, global atmospheric circulation, global climate zones, past climate change, polar climate, hot deserts, changing global climate, UK climate, changing UK climate, the climate crisis

Extending weather: Anticyclones, depressions, microclimates, urban weather, tropical cyclones.

The Royal Meteorological Society believes that:

all students should leave school with basic weather literacy that allows them to understand the weather that affects them, their leisure activities and the careers they choose to follow

every student should leave school with basic climate literacy that would enable them to engage with the messages put forward by the media or politicians and to make informed decisions about their own opportunities and responsibilities.

To this end, we have embedded a climate change thread throughout the online resources, showing its relevance to both weather and climate. An understanding of weather and climate is fundamental to an understanding of climate change.

There is a progression of knowledge through the topics, supported by review and assessment activities. The resources also progressively develop key geographical skills such as data, mapwork, GIS, fieldwork and critical thinking.

We also include common misconceptions which should be challenged in the classroom.

Many of the online teaching resources are available with standard or easier versions, as well as extension or alternative activities.

Find the scheme of work, teaching resources, background information for teachers, as well as the Teachers’ Guide here.

Extreme weather Geography Secondary Weather

New Animation – Storm Surges

Post author By Sylvia Knight
Post date 2 October 2023

We are delighted to have worked with Seth Jackson Animation and the staff and students at Boston College to produce a new animation, explaining what factors combine to give us storm surges in the UK, their impacts, adaptations and how climate change will affect them. There’s also a knowledge organiser for students to take notes on and summarise their learning.

Geography Weather

Cloud, Sunshine and a cool Breeze

Post author By Sylvia Knight
Post date 5 June 2023

Were you lucky enough to have blazing sunshine through the half term holiday, or were you sitting under a blanket of cloud?

Whichever, the cool wind and the distribution of cloud were a lovely case study of Polar continental air.

With High pressure sitting to the North of Scotland, and winds blowing clockwise around it, the typical pattern of cloud forming over the western side of the North Sea, spreading onto the eastern side of Scotland and England, persisted for many days. One some days, the cloud was thin enough for most to evaporate during the day, on others, the cloud persisted.

Having come from Scandinavia or Siberia, the air was cool. To identify the source of the air, simply pick an isobar that crosses the UK, and follow it back to see where the air has come from, remembering that the wind blows approximately along the isobars, in a clockwise direction around High pressure.

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