The world of work has changed dramatically over the past twenty years. A challenge facing all schools is how best to prepare and educate young people for the workplace in which the very nature and structure of work keeps shifting. A pioneering project here at the College involving the use of an industry standard Geographical Information System (GIS) aims to help bridge the gap between school and work.

This summer will see the College submitting, for the first time, GCSE coursework prepared by geography students using the powerful GIS technology. 

Two years ago, the College became one of just eight senior school in the UK to be included in a pilot project using one of the most advanced GIS products available supplied by the Earth, Science and Research Institute (ESRI). 

“It is exciting to be at the leading edge of GIS technology in education,” said Geography teacher, Dr O’Connor. “It represents a golden opportunity for schools to move geography teaching into the 21st century. My experience of using GIS has indicated that the technology is accessible to all abilities and a significant motivator to enthuse pupils in their learning, especially when they realise that they are using the same software to analyse data as the police, local government, the Environment Agency and other important national organisations. This drives home the idea that the skills that they are learning are not just important for their examination projects but likely to be significant in their future careers.”

GIS is not limited to geography and with the growing demand from employers in all sectors for those with good GIS and supporting skills, Bishop's Stortford College is now looking to roll out the software to other subjects such as history, biology and mathematics.