Ordnance Survey maps are an invaluable tool, particularly for those who might not know exactly what they are or where they are going. These navigation tools are so much more than merely being a component of the GCSE curriculum.
By strengthening your ability to read and understand ordinance survey maps, you’ll not only have an easier time finding your way out of tricky situations, but you’ll also find yourself attaining a higher grade in your geography exams!
The purpose of this article is to detail just about everything you need to know about ordinance survey maps so that you can walk into your GCSE geography exam with confidence, knowing that you’re more than capable of tackling just about any question that can come your way.
History and Purpose of Ordnance Survey
In order to arrive at an understanding of just how important these tools are for navigating, it's important that we have a sense of how they have evolved to what they are today. These maps have survived the test of time, having been around since all the way back in 1745 when a rebellion in the Scottish Highlands prompted the need for accurate military mapping.
While it’s unlikely to feature as a short question in any of your geography exams, knowing that its military origins are reflected in its name, with 'Ordnance' referring to artillery and military supplies, is certainly a cool fact to hold on to for a table quiz!
Today, the Ordnance Survey maintains a National Geographic Database of Great Britain, containing over half a billion features that can be updated up to 20,000 times daily.
Over the years, the incorporation of various technologies has only strengthened the capacity of the navigation tool. One notable advancement came in 1855, when the use of photography became a component in map creation, enabling a streamlined and precise data collection process.
Not too long after, colour printing further enhanced the aesthetic of ordnance survey maps, making them more readable and providing more potential to convey data on paper. Hopefully, you will find yourself with some more appreciation for the tool and begin to see it as more than a chapter in your school book! Exploring comprehensive geographic and cartographic practices will prepare you thoroughly for GCSE Geography.
Key Features of OS Maps
🗺️ Map Scales
⌧ Grid Reference System
📍 Symbols and legends
Ordinance survey maps can be quite overwhelming when you look at them for the first time. To the untrained eye, it can seem like an overload of information, and it can prove challenging to extract any useful information from the photo.
However, once you familiarise yourself with the key features of the maps and know what to look out for, you’ll begin to love seeing the sight of them on your exam papers, as they can offer some easy marks for you to pick up!
Map Scales
One hurdle that GCSE geography students often fall short of is finding and subsequently reading the scale of the map that features on their exam paper. In plain English, the scale of the map tells us how much distance on the map equates to the actual real-life size of the area it is describing.
For instance, in Ordnance Survey (OS) maps, you’ll find various scales, such as the 1 to 25 thousand.
This basically tells us that for every 1cm we measure on our map, the distance equates to 25 thousand centimetres or 250 meters in reality.
This is how such a vast area, such as an entire city or even the whole UK, can be depicted on an A3 or A4-sized piece of paper.
This is something that once you know, you’ll never forget. You’ll also be glad to hear that textual descriptions are commonly provided alongside the maps themselves, giving you a grasp of the scale ratio of the image you're faced with in your exam.
Grid Reference System
The next feature that you’ll need to be able to distinguish is the grid system that you’ll notice running across any OS map that you come across.
The vertical lines are known as 'eastings', and they rise in value as you move across the map from west to east; the horizontal lines are 'northings', and they increase as you move northwards up your map.
These are essential for providing coordinates of particular features in the map and are pretty much guaranteed to feature as a short question for your exam. You will often be assessed on your ability to read the grid reference of a specified feature on the map, where you’ll need to provide a four-digit or six-digit grid reference to show that you are able to accurately read and locate a specified feature or symbol on an OS map.
Mastering and constructing geographic maps and your drawing skills are crucial for visual representation in your GCSE Geography exam.
Symbols and legends
One of the biggest learnings that comes with covering the topic of OS maps in its entirety is familiarising yourself with the various symbols and understanding how to read and draw a legend to accompany the map.
The symbols on OS maps represent man-made elements in a way that is straightforward and consistent for those reading it to read and understand when navigating unfamiliar terrain.
For example, when it comes to something like transportation, important features like roads and railways will quickly be evident when reading the map.
Key features such as rivers and forests, structures such as schools and churches and lands such as farms and parks are all going to be much easier to pick out from your first reading of an OS map.
While you might be asked to pick out one of these features on an OS map in your exam without a legend, in most situations, you’ll find that your map is accompanied by a key or legend that will help you interpret it. So, with a familiarity with common symbols that feature on OS maps and an understanding of how to read a map legend, you’ll be well-equipped for any upcoming hiking trips and be ready to pick up full marks in this section of your exam!
Reading an Ordinance Survey Map
Reading ordinance survey maps is a skill that can be developed with practice. So, while reading all about the various features is a great way to become familiar with how to locate various elements on the map, testing yourself with past exam papers is going to sharpen your skills.
Not only will this give you the best idea of the sort of question that you are likely to be asked on the day, but it will also give you a sense of how many marks are being awarded for the various questions and inform you of how to best allocate your time when answering the paper.
There’s not much point in spending hours of your time preparing for questions that aren’t featured on the exam. So by practising reading maps from past pacers, you’ll be better prepared to achieve the grade you deserve in the subject.
It’s important that when you’re reading an OS map, you don’t read the question and jump right into trying to label or locate a feature. Remember to take a moment to understand the map, looking at the legend, its scale and any key features that might become apparent from your first glance at the respective terrain.
Once you’ve taken the time to run through this short checklist, you should be prepared to begin working your way through the questions. Exploring the basics of interpreting geology maps is crucial for aspiring geographers and earth scientists.
Understanding Ordnance Survey Maps
Hopefully, after reading your reading, you will find yourself confident that you’ll be able to answer any question that comes your way on OS maps. You may also have a newfound appreciation for these valuable tools, how they have evolved over time and what they can tell us about the world around us.
From their military origins to their current role in supporting various sectors, these maps have evolved to become invaluable tools for exploration and planning. As we become increasingly dependent on navigation aids in our lives and adventures, the longstanding importance of these carefully constructed maps demonstrates just how valuable and descriptive they are!
If you find that you could use an extra set of trained eyes alongside you when honing your map reading skills, you can quite easily head over to the Supeprof homepage and browse through the many qualified tutors offering their services online or in your area. You could begin your learning journey as soon as today with a few simple clicks of the mouse!
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