Sedbergh Primary School were commended for the BMC Award. The school has taken an exciting step to strengthen staff expertise in fieldwork, turning ideas from The PTI Hub into practical classroom experiences. A dedicated staff meeting introduced hands-on activities such as soundscapes, emotion mapping, and environmental quality surveys within the school grounds. Building on this momentum, the school launched a whole-school Geography and Maths theme week, highlighting the close connection between the two subjects. Teachers have since woven these new fieldwork techniques into long-term plans, with evidence of practical learning now shining through in pupils’ books.
The initiative has transformed the profile of Geography across the school and sparked real enthusiasm among pupils. During the theme week, every class took part in meaningful fieldwork: Year 1/2 carried out a traffic survey with a police officer using a speed gun; Year 3/4 teamed up with the Yorkshire Dales National Park to explore navigation, map reading, and tree-age measurement; and Year 5/6 surveyed local residents on Market Day about vehicle use. Thanks to PTI networking, the school even borrowed VR headsets, giving pupils an immersive experience of biomes and oceans—an activity they described as “awesome.” Impressively, 100% of pupils interviewed said they enjoyed the week and could confidently explain the fieldwork they had completed.