The National University of Singapore Geography Challenge
2007 (formerly known as the SPH Geography Challenge) is a nationwide geography
competition organised by the Department of Geography (NUS) and the NUS Geographical
Society. Currently in its 11th year, the competition has successfully promoted
awareness of the wide applicability of geographical knowledge and stimulated
interest in this discipline among secondary school students and teachers.
This year, the NUS Geography Challenge is proud to have the NUS Geography
Department and SMB United Pte Ltd among our sponsors. The event is also
supported by the Ministry of Education and the Geography Teachers’ Association
of Singapore.
The NUS Geography Challenge 2007 attracted a total of 56 participating
secondary schools. The Preliminary Round held on 29 May 2007 combined multi-choice
questions with geographical problem-based, open-ended questions to be solved
as a team. The emphasis was on geographical concepts framed in current context,
maps and images interpretation and analysis, connectivity between geography and
daily life, global and local geographical issues and environmental change and
implications.
The final GeoTrail Round was held on 17 June 2007. This round required the
30 finalist teams to complete seven stations, ‘Amazing Race’ style, along different
trails. Armed with reference materials such as maps, the team members employed
skills and knowledge related to map reading, on-site observation, problem solving,
National Education, current affairs and general knowledge to clear all the
stations. The focus was on allowing students to apply textbook knowledge to the
real world and on highlighting the importance of current affairs knowledge and
real world phenomena in the students’ daily lives.
The GeoTrail Round culminated in a Final Round at NUS which attracted an
audience of 250, including students and teachers of the participating schools.
Professor Shirlena Huang, Head of Department for Geography, National University
of Singapore, kindly acted as Guest of Honour.
The overall results of the National University of Singapore Geography Challenge
2007 were:
Best Team for Preliminary Round: Raffles Girls’ School
Best Individual Scores: Raffles Girls School
Best Team for GeoTrail: Raffles Institution
Overall winning team: Raffles Girls’ School
This year’s winning team, Raffles Girls’ School, received a $500 cash prize,
along with return air tickets for the team to travel to the National Geographical
Channel’s international competition at San Diego. They also received the coveted
Challenge Trophy.
