Some 30,000 delegates descending on Glasgow for the COP26 conference. Renewables and the green economy. Brexit and the impact on trade. Floods in northern Europe and wildfires in California, Greece and Australia. The worst pandemic for a century.

Evidently, there has never been a better time to study geography. 

Geography lends itself to the key principles of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence: it promotes literacy, numeracy, digital literacy, outdoor learning, learning through sustainability and is well placed to form interdisciplinary links with the sciences and the other social subjects.

This should be a time for geography as a subject to prosper. However, the opposite is happening within our secondary schools. Between 2011 and 2019, numbers studying geography courses in upper secondary fell substantially, which contrasts markedly with the rest of the UK. All recent data illustrates that geography as a subject is in serious decline in Scotland.

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In a response to this, the Scottish Association of Geography Teachers (SAGT) surveyed its members pre-Covid. This revealed that 60 per cent of S1 pupils and 25 per cent of S2 pupils are taught geography by a non-subject specialist.

In the senior phase, 60 per cent of Higher classes have other levels in the same class, principally National 5, and 10 per cent of senior geography classes have four different levels in the same room. Raising attainment is nigh-on impossible when teachers are asked to deliver different courses to different stages.

Moreover, in just under 10 per cent of state schools, geography is not offered at all in the senior phase.

One of the main reasons for the decline is that half of state secondaries restrict pupils to studying only six subjects in S4 (essentially this is four after English and maths). The emphasis on Stem subjects and the push for studying Scottish history has further squeezed uptake. The SAGT survey reveals that state schools present pupils for an average of 6.2 subjects in S4, while in the independent sector it is 7.9 subjects per pupil.

But there is more to it: geography has gained a reputation as being a difficult subject. The Scottish Qualifications Authority’s own statistics reinforce this, given that since the unnecessary lengthening of National 5 exams in 2018 almost 30 of pupils do not achieve a C pass; only mathematics has lower pass rates.

At Higher, one in four pupils who sit the final exam does not attain a C pass. Pupils studying geography also have a statistically lower opportunity to achieve an A grade than most of the other top 15 studied subjects. Data-savvy school leaders funnel pupils into other subjects where students have only a 5 per cent chance of failing, to ensure their attainment statistics are robust.

The proposed reform of the SQA and Education Scotland offers a window of opportunity to reset the senior phase. But several changes need to happen for geography to prosper.

Firstly, the focus of reform must be on promoting teaching and learning, with assessment a supporting but not dominant process. Most secondary practitioners are smothered by the relentless data treadmill of senior target setting, tracking and assessing. Removing the two-term dash in S4 and returning to a two-year Standard Grade-type framework would enhance breadth and depth, while continuous assessment could reduce the exam burden. Reducing class-contact time would apportion time to enrich the curriculum in areas such as fieldwork and geographical information systems (GIS). This needs to be supported by investing in professional development and training for classroom teachers.

Secondly, reform of the SQA is urgently required, to create a transparent body that supports both pupils and teachers, instead of running them ragged with unrealistic demands and endless bureaucracy. Recent use of algorithms to determine attainment dictates that national reforms rightly need to consider the attainment gap between socioeconomic groups - but the attainment gap between subjects also needs to be addressed to create parity. End-of-course exams will still have a role to play, but the current variants have too much weighting, are far too long and have repetitive question stems. In addition, the hideous rote learning pieces known as course assignments should be removed permanently.

Thirdly, support needs to be given to individual subjects, which is where most of the expertise and excellent practice in the secondary curriculum exists. The 2001 McCrone Agreement effectively signalled the end of the subject principal teacher in all but four of our local authorities. Within faculty structures, classroom teachers are expected to assume subject leadership roles without the proper remuneration and support. Schools need a focal point to manage change and should be dispensing with short-term Pupil Equity Fund posts; instead, the reintroduction of principal teachers would help subjects feel valued, raise standards and improve career pathways.

Finally, the senior geography curriculum needs to be modernised, especially at National 5 level. Despite climate change being the biggest single threat to our planet, it is, bizarrely, not a mandatory component of either the N5 or Higher course. Furthermore, the concept of sustainability needs to be at the heart of our curriculum, allowing more relevant concepts such as sustainable food production, rewilding, fast fashion, waste management and the impact of plastics to be studied in the senior phase.

The significant problems humanity faces will require future decision-makers to have a real grasp of the interactions between people and their environment - studying geography has huge benefits for society.

Iain Aitken is president of the Scottish Association of Geography Teachers and one of the few remaining principal teachers of geography in Scotland