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What do you know about your locality and how can you find out more? Ordnance Survey’s Free Maps for Year 7 Pupils. 

There is a wealth of information to be found out about your local area by using Ordnance Survey map in your classroom.  From the origins of place names to location of places of worship these maps can add greater depth to you work on Who do we think we are?

When people are asked ‘where do you come from?’ they often answer with a geographical place.  So by using local OS maps you can explore the detail of local:

• transport links, for road, rail and even footpaths.
• open spaces for recreation time, housing density and geographical features.
• and clues to help understand why development has taken place in a specific way and how the physical geography has affected the development of your particular town or village.

Using a map is vital for getting from A to B, however, it also provides your pupils with greater knowledge and understanding about the place where they live.

Through its Free Maps for Schools project the Ordnance Survey is offering all pupils in year 7 a free 1:25 000 OS Explorer map of their locality. Letters will be delivered to all eligible schools with year 7 pupils at the start of the new 2009-2010 school year, August in Scotland and September in England and Wales.

To date, the scheme, which is now in its eighth year, has supplied over 5.2 million free maps to Year 7 pupils and you should make sure your pupils do not miss out this autumn. Further details of the scheme can be found by following the link below.

Written by
Roger Jeans, Education Manager, Ordnance Survey
Date Published: 19th May 2009

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