Geography student fall fears dismissed

Susanna Gillman, Planning, 29 August 2008

The body was responding to the 4.3 per cent drop in GCSE geography students revealed in figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications last week. A total of 205,260 pupils completed the geography course this year compared with 214,538 in 2007.

"The decrease does not set alarm bells ringing for me. There are more students on RTPI-accredited course than ever," said RTPI membership, education and lifelong learning director Sue Percy.

But she admitted that the RTPI needs to work more closely with schools on the curriculum for 14-19 diplomas. "If students are exposed to planning in school it becomes a degree choice much earlier," she added.

Percy also pointed out that subjects such as citizenship, environmental science and economics are just as relevant for planning.

"We will keep reviewing numbers of geography students but other courses have as much resonance with planning. The pool of people coming into the profession is very diverse."

Figures from university admissions body UCAS also released last week show that entrants to physical and social geography courses have risen 5.4 per cent and 8.7 per cent respectively.

While undergraduate planning students dropped by 0.8 per cent, Percy said postgraduate courses are recruiting "extremely well".