THE FREDERICK SODDY TRUST: GRANTS FOR SCHOOL EXPEDITIONS AND FIELDWORK
Grants of between £200 and £600 are available to primary and secondary schools in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland for fieldwork/field studies involving a strong element of human geography.
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o Application deadline: TUESDAY 3rd FEBRUARY 2026.
o Funder: The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers, (founded 1930. Charity number 208791. Total charitable expenditure for the year ended 31 December 2024: £6,303,000 (2023: £6,080,000)).
o Who can apply: Primary and Secondary Schools in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
o Key words: Student Expeditions, Field Studies, Fieldwork, Human Geography, Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom.
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The Frederick Soddy Schools Award scheme was created in 2018 when the Frederick Soddy Trust became a linked charity of the Royal Geographical Society – Institute of British Geographers, creating a new set of grants, the Frederick Soddy Awards, to support school and student fieldwork and expeditions. Prior to 2018 the Frederick Soddy Schools Award was promoted for the Frederick Soddy Trust by the Geographical Association.
The Trust recognises that schools often find it difficult to compete successfully for funds from the main grant-giving bodies or to allocate their own resources to field studies. The aim of the Frederick Soddy Schools Awards is to encourage field studies by providing financial support specifically for this work.
The awards are given to teachers leading groups of school pupils. Applications are welcomed from UK and Republic of Ireland schools planning fieldwork involving a strong element of human geography (human geography normally refers to the branch of geography dealing with how human activity affects or is influenced by the earth’s surface).
Awards are made of £200 to £600 but cannot support the costs of physical resources. A list of past recipients is provided on the Trust’s website.
The Trust has an annual application for its School Awards. The 2026 deadline is on Tuesday 3rd February 2026.
Further information, guidance and details about how to apply is available on the Trust’s website.
Completed application forms should be submitted to grants@rgs.org, along with a short CV of the project leader.
All applications will be reviewed by an expert panel and awards made depending on the merit of the project. Successful applicants are expected to be notified in March 2026.
Contact details for the Trust are:
The Frederick Soddy Trust
Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers),
1 Kensington Gore,
London
SW7 2AR
Tel: 020 7571 3000
Email: grants@rgs.org