Places around the world
Year 5 · Geography
Explore places, read maps and discover the world around you.
Choose a game
Take your time, try a game and collect stars.
UK mountains and rivers: Ben Nevis, the Severn and more
Which is the UK’s tallest mountain? Which is its longest river? A free Year 5 geography game about the UK’s mountains and rivers.
Play UK mountains and rivers: Ben Nevis, the Severn and more
Learning about places around the world
In this Year 5 geography collection, you can practise UK mountains and rivers: Ben Nevis, the Severn and more. Choose a game above for a short activity, or explore the examples below before you play. The full guide for each game explains its controls, gives more examples and includes a free printable for practice away from the screen.
Talk it through
Keep a globe, atlas or simple map nearby. Ask your child to point to a place or direction before naming it. Relate a map symbol or feature to a real example, and compare places rather than memorising isolated names.
Ask: “Where would you look to check your answer?” Give your child time to explain. Return to an example after playing and ask whether they would approach it differently.
UK mountains and rivers: Ben Nevis, the Severn and more
The curriculum asks children to name and locate the UK’s key topographical features, including hills, mountains, coasts and rivers. This game focuses on the stars of the map: the tallest mountain in each of the four countries and the UK’s longest rivers. Ben Nevis in Scotland (1,345 m) is the tallest mountain in the UK, followed by Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) in Wales (1,085 m), Scafell Pike in England (978 m) and Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland (850 m).
Try an example: Which is the tallest mountain in England?
England’s highest land is in the Lake District, in Cumbria.
Show the answer
Scafell Pike.
What to look out for
Thinking the Thames is the UK’s longest river. The Severn (354 km) is longer than the Thames (346 km). The Thames is the longest river entirely in England.
Read the full UK mountains and rivers: Ben Nevis, the Severn and more guide
Practise away from the screen
- Find the four tallest mountains on a UK map and plan which one you would like to visit.
Curriculum connections
These games support selected practice connected to Locational knowledge in the National Curriculum in England. The programme groups requirements by key stage; the year shown here is our suggested practice placement. A game covers selected examples, rather than assessing every requirement.
Questions families ask
Where should we start with places around the world?
Start with UK mountains and rivers: Ben Nevis, the Severn and more. Look at the worked example together, then try a round. If the task feels unfamiliar, use the full game guide or its free printable before trying again.
Does this cover everything taught at this level?
No. This collection brings together the games currently available for this learning area. It supports selected skills and does not replace the full programme of study or practical teaching.