Shenton College puts itself on the map in geography competition

Independent public school Shenton College has the world at its feet after topping the State in the 2011 National Geographic Channel Australian Geography Competition.

Almost 400 students from the school entered the national competition. Year 12 student Callum Nevill was Western Australia's top performer and the school finished equal 10th nationally.

The competition encourages student interest in geography and rewards student excellence. Students answered multiple-choice questions testing geographical knowledge and skills.

Education Minister Liz Constable congratulated Shenton College and Callum for their success.

"This is a wonderful achievement, for one of our independent public schools to have performed so well nationally in such a prestigious competition," Dr Constable said.

"Being recognised in competitions such as the National Geographic Channel Australian Geography Competition is great for Western Australia and I am very proud of Shenton College and the participating students."

Principal Mike Morgan said students were regularly encouraged to take part in cross curricular competitions and a significant number of students competed.

"It's an opportunity for students to express their knowledge outside of the course content and is a good way for us to gauge their performance and understanding," Mr Morgan said.

"Several Shenton College students performed extremely well against a host of schools across Australia."

Callum received the Atlas of the World published by National Geographic and a medal, while the school received a certificate and an atlas for its efforts.

The National Geographic Channel Australian Geography Competition is a joint initiative of The Royal Geographical Society of Queensland and the Australian Geography Teachers' Association. It is sponsored by the National Geographic Channel.