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Exposure to Geography Has Rewards For All
Entering a whole year group in a national competition is not just about results, says Head of Geography Allan Hallett. During Term 2, all Year 9 students took part in the 2011 National Geographic Channel Australian Geography Competition.
Mr Hallett said the School entered the Year 9 cohort, as well as invited Year 10 students, for the experience of the competition and to promote geography as a subject. “Not many schools enter the whole year group,” Mr Hallett said. “While the competition rewards student excellence our aim is to promote and stimulate the boys’ interest in geography.”
The 35-minute competition tests students’ geographical knowledge and skills through multiple-choice questions. Mr Hallett said the boys had fun exploring the National Geographic website prior to the competition and looking at past questions to help them prepare. “They had to interpret data and maps as well as looking at urban renewal in urban landscapes, such as the Docklands in Melbourne.”
Despite being one of few schools to enter an entire year group in the competition, Christ Church had considerable success. Liam Kerney (Year 10) was the top performer in the State in both the senior and intermediate divisions.
The Year 10 student represented WA in the finals of the competition in Sydney in June. The panel-style quiz, which was filmed for the National Geographic Channel, involved a rigorous day of questioning and problem solving. After an extremely tight competition, Liam finished third overall. As a result, he was named reserve for the Australian Geography Olympiad Team, which will compete at the International Geography Olympiad in Taipei later this month.
Brendon Wright (Year 9) was the highest achieving Christ Church boy in the junior division of the competition while Michael Zhou (Year 10) and Vandit Trivedi (Year 9) were the second and third highest achievers for Christ Church in the intermediate division behind Liam.
Christ Church has a wonderful track record in the international competition. In 2008, Lawrence Ward won a bronze medal when he represented Australia in the International Geography Olympiad in Tunisia. In 2009, Patrick Mackenzie brought home a silver medal for Australia in the Asia Pacific Region Geographical Olympiad in Japan. Liam, still only in Year 10, looks destined to follow in their footsteps.