‘Layers of London’ – a rich geographical palimpsest

‘Place’ is both part of our everyday livesand a meta-concept of the discipline of geography.Yet, at a national level, how the Department forEducation conceptualises place and, in turn, sharesit with geography teachers varies significantly asiterations of the key stage 3 National Curriculumcome and go. In emphasising that ‘place’ is morethan just a point on the Earth’s surface, we arguethat students’ geographical thinking can beenhanced when the concept is fully explored in theirgeography education. This article critically considershow the Heritage Lottery-funded ‘Layers of London’project can be used as a medium to developstudents’ understanding of both London and place.