Geography, as with all subjects, has a set of organising principles and concepts. One of the central concepts which underpins the subject is that of place. However, it is very much the case that this is an evolving concept, which has taken on a number of guises over time. This paper reviews some of the major changes in perspectives on place as a concept in both academic and school-based approaches before discussing how school-level geography has recently begun to address the conceptual elements of the subject using place as an example. Using the pilot GCSE syllabus for 14-16 years as a case study, it is demonstrated that school-level students are now beginning to take the opportunity to understand conceptual elements of the subject rather than merely concentrating on the subject content. As such it is discussed how this enables students to gain a deeper understanding of the subject. (Contains 1 table and 5 figures.)