Catherine Owen

Catherine Owen

@geogmum.bsky.social

Geography teacher with 30 years classroom experience. Vice President of The Geographical Association. CGeog & Fellow of RGS. Jack & Megan’s Mum. Love reading, travelling & learning. 🌍

1,044 Followers 649 Following 307 Posts Joined Aug 2024
3 weeks ago
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GA Conference 2026 sneak peek! Come along to Conference on 8-10 April 2026 to take part in the sessions mentioned in this sneak peak and many more!

Coming to the GA Conference, or considering it? Here’s is a sneak peek! geography.org.uk/blogs/ga-con...

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1 month ago
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AQA A-Level Geography Live Revision for 2026 | The Water Cycle (Paper 1 Core) Join Vicki and the team for 30-40 minutes of fast-paced interactive revision on the water cycle - a core topic for Paper 1 on the AQA A-Level Geography spec.

Our live AQA A-Level Geography revision blasts begin this week - remind your students to join myself and @geogmum.bsky.social at 6pm on Wednesday to revise the water cycle - www.tutor2u.net/live/aqa-a-l...

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1 month ago
The Power of Poetry
 
with things falling apart
and anarchy let loose,
 
it was only poetry, he found,
which had any use,
 
so he reached for his copy  
of The Complete Works of Yeats
 
and bludgeoned the President
of the United States


Brian Bilston

Here’s a short poem about the power of poetry to change the world.

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2 months ago
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Success In AQA A-Level Geography Resources and approaches to support effective revision and exam technique for AQA A-Level Geography exams.

Join @geogriffi.bsky.social and @geogmum.bsky.social for Success in AQA A-Level Geography on Wednesday 4th Feb - www.tutor2u.net/cpd/success-...

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3 months ago
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Geography makes a difference 4 – Geography done differently at The Open University: Choosing when, where and how to study for a Geography and Environmental Studies degree At the 2025 GA Annual Conference in Oxford I had a great conversation with The Open University team. With my interest in geography making a difference to people from different backgrounds and with …

A new blogpost in my ‘Geography makes a difference’ series. The Open University geography degree can make a big difference for those looking for a flexible approach to studying. This blog also has links to some teaching resources. @geographicalassoc.bsky.social geogmum.wordpress.com/2025/12/07/g...

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3 months ago
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Did you know that scientist don’t really use the Richter scale anymore? The most common magnitude scale used these days is called the “Moment Magnitude” scale. Here’s more info 🧪

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3 months ago
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3rd video in my series on the Bristol Case Study

The Temple Quarter Regeneration project is a great example of redevelopment of brownfield sites across the urban environment

I visited Temple Meads Station and St Philip's Marsh

Watch on
youtu.be/NgvMGi9hAAo?...

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3 months ago

New blog in my ‘Geography makes a Difference’ series - find out about using funding from the Turing Scheme to support all students in having the opportunity to take part in overseas visits - geogmum.wordpress.com/2025/11/16/geo…

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4 months ago

Morning! #teamgeog #geographyteachers what virtual fieldwork do you do? What are your top tips, websites, resources? @geogmum.bsky.social @theislandgeogr.bsky.social Thank you!

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4 months ago
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Welcome to VR Glaciers and Glaciated Landscapes - VR Glaciers and Glaciated Landscapes This website allows you to explore glaciers and glaciated landscapes using virtual field trips. High quality, 360 degree interactive panoramas (panospheres) allow you to look all around and zoom in on...

This is really good - vrglaciers.wp.worc.ac.uk/wordpress/

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4 months ago
It's clear from the video footage that Billie Eilish felt slightly intimidated & apprehensive to call out
billionaires in a room full of billionaires, but she did so anyway.
She did so anyway.
threads.com/@kyleenrussell

It's clear from the video footage that Billie Eilish felt slightly intimidated & apprehensive to call out billionaires in a room full of billionaires, but she did so anyway.

She did so anyway.

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4 months ago
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Great Expectations: growing up Pupil Premium “Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.” Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll This is a personal post. It’s about poverty, and it’s abo…

birminghamteacher.wordpress.com/2018/09/30/g...

birminghamteacher.wordpress.com/2023/08/07/p...

birminghamteacher.wordpress.com/2022/03/13/o...

- three of the best, I think.

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4 months ago

Thank you - I’ll have a read.

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4 months ago

This links to my GA Presidential theme of geography makes a difference - the be strand is the difference to employability due to skills gained. There will be some great sessions about this at the GA conference in April.

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4 months ago

So important. We need to be careful with our ‘travellers tales’ - some could be inspired to travel, but geography could seem very alien to some students.

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4 months ago

I’m really keen to have these difficult conversations as part of my ‘Geography makes a Difference’ theme. How can growing up in poverty put obstacles in the way of students studying geography? How can studying geography enrich these students’ lives? @geographicalassoc.bsky.social

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4 months ago

Oh no! I am sorry to hear this. 😔

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4 months ago
Catherine in front of the stage. Pirates in the audience. Some of the shanty singers Jack, Catherine & Gary at the Festival.

A great afternoon at Mevagissey Shanty Festival.

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5 months ago
Catherine at an online meeting with the GA Fieldwork and Outdoor Learning group.

Thank you to GAFOLSIG for welcoming me to your meeting today. Your work is so valuable & I love taking part in the annual National Festival of Fieldwork. Shout out to anyone interested in joining the group - particularly primary teachers - get in touch & get involved! @theislandgeogr.bsky.social

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5 months ago

So pleased you liked it. I was like a little kid running from one mushroom to another!

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5 months ago
Orange Fungi on the end of a mossy log. Bright red mushrooms. Clusters of yellow mushrooms amongst stones. Catherine next to two large mushrooms.

Beautiful mushrooms on Exmoor! 🍄

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5 months ago
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Geography makes a difference Part 1: Could your students study at Cambridge? I am delighted to be the President of the Geographical Association for 2025/26. My chosen theme for this year is ‘Geography makes a difference’, which I have blogged about here. One of …

My GA Presidential Theme is ‘Geography makes a difference’. I aim to post a blog on this theme in conjunction with someone else from the geography community each month. Here’s the September blog, written by Meg, ClassAct Officer at Emmanuel College. geogmum.wordpress.com/2025/10/04/g...

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5 months ago
Catherine wearing her GA President badge. The badge.

Feels very official now I have the badge!

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5 months ago
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Two years ago, I was approached by @geogmum.bsky.social and @jennnnnn.bsky.social about a book on teaching geography in the 21st century 🌍 They asked me if I wanted to write a chapter on how to teach geographical skills in secondary school 📝

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5 months ago

So glad you are finding it useful. Which chapter are you reading first? ❤️

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5 months ago
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Thrilled to have this delivered at school! As a non specialist this is perfect for making sure I can have curriculum conversations with our Geographer. We’ve agreed on a chapter to read & discuss together in our next department meeting. Bravo @geogmum.bsky.social @jennnnnn.bsky.social 👏🗺️
#TeamHums

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5 months ago
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Thank you for all the positivity about ‘What is geography teaching, now?’ So proud of this book - for teachers, by teachers. ❤️ @jennnnnn.bsky.social

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5 months ago
Catherine with a copy of her new book ‘What is Geography Teaching, Now?’

I’ve got my hands on a copy at last! I’ve loved working with so many wonderful geographers on this project. I hope it will help & inspire others. @hachettelearning.bsky.social

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5 months ago

Enjoyed presenting with you too @geogmum! A great bunch of geography teachers on our course yesterday, willing to share ideas #everybodywins #teachercpd

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5 months ago
Intro slide for course. Set up & ready to go - table with sweets, water & booklets. Alice presenting to the group. A selfie with the group in the background.

Great day presenting the Essential A level Geography course for Tutor2U with Alice today. Dream team!

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