How each map is made
The land comes from a random relief model: hills and ridges, a river cut into its own valley, then contour lines traced at the map's interval (10 m at 1:50 000, 5 m at 1:25 000, 20 m for ICSE). Roads follow the gentlest route, a village grows round a junction near the river, woods sit on the slopes. Every symbol used in a grid-reference question has its centre well inside one square and away from the tenth lines; where the drawn symbol still crosses a tenth line, the neighbouring six-figure reference is marked right too, as mark schemes do. Directions are never close to the line between two compass points.
A worked example
On map GR6MAP (GCSE, 1:50 000) the mast is in square 2781. It sits 8 tenths across from easting 27 and just past northing 81, so that tenth is 0: the six-figure reference is 278810. The straight-line distance from the place of worship (241809) to Stank Farm (273833) measures about 4 km against the scale bar, and anything from 3.89 to 4.09 km is marked right. Open map GR6MAP
What each level asks
KS3: four- and six-figure references both ways, distance, eight compass points, height from contours and river flow. GCSE: adds distance along a road, gradient, steepness, land use and cross-sections (AQA 8035 section 3.4.1). Cambridge IGCSE: the 16-point compass, bearings from grid north and differences in height. ICSE Class 10: 1:50 000 with 20 m contours, relative height and area from the grid. You can tick or untick any question type.
Questions
How do you give a six-figure grid reference?
Find the square first, using the easting on its left side and the northing on its bottom side. Split each side of the square into ten. Count tenths across from the easting, then tenths up from the northing. Write the easting and its tenth, then the northing and its tenth: 24 and 0, then 78 and 9 give 240789.
What is the difference between a four-figure and a six-figure grid reference?
A four-figure reference names a whole 1 km square. A six-figure reference names a 100 m square inside it, so it pins down a single symbol. Some exam questions ask for four figures only and give no mark for six, so read the question.
How do you measure distance on a map?
Lay the straight edge of a strip of paper between the two places and mark both ends, then hold it against the scale bar. For a road or river, mark the strip at each bend, pivot it, and carry on. The June 2023 Cambridge IGCSE mark scheme accepted 3.5 to 3.7 km for a 3.6 km distance.
How do you work out gradient from a map?
Take the difference in height between the two points, from contour lines or spot heights, and measure the distance between them in metres. Divide the distance by the height difference: 60 m of rise over 1500 m is 1 in 25. The smaller the second number, the steeper the slope.
How do contour lines show steep and gentle land?
Contour lines join places of the same height. Lines close together mean steep land; lines far apart mean gentle land. Where a contour line crosses a river it bends into a V that points upstream, which also tells you the way the river flows.
Which exams does this cover?
The GCSE level follows the AQA 8035 cartographic skills list: four- and six-figure references, straight and curved distances, direction, gradient, contours, spot heights and cross-sections. IGCSE adds the 16-point compass and bearings from grid north. ICSE adds area from the grid and the eight cardinal points.
Is this an Ordnance Survey map?
No. Every map here is invented: the land, the place names and the symbols are our own drawings, in the style of a British map extract. It is not affiliated with Ordnance Survey. Learn the real OS symbols from their own key as well.
Sources, checked 25 October 2026: AQA GCSE Geography 8035 specification, version 1.1 (12 September 2023), section 3.4.1 Cartographic skills; Cambridge IGCSE Geography 0460 syllabus for 2027 to 2029, version 2 (October 2024), Cartographic skills; CISCE ICSE Geography syllabus, Class X, Part I Map Work (read in the 2023-24 edition); Ordnance Survey Mapzone, Quick guide to grid references (2017). Answer ranges follow AQA 8035 and Cambridge 0460 mark schemes from 2019 to 2024.