LATEST NEWS

Year 13 A Level Geography departed for Slapton Ley on Saturday 14th of September for a five day residential trip. We arrived in the stunning sunshine and were able to head straight out to measure the infiltration rates of soil in a fallow and a pasture field, which were then statistically tested with a Mann-Whitney U test - and all before our dinner.

Day two saw us drive to Plymouth to collect data in three residential areas to measure how inequality and deprivation varies. These urban field methods will be useful for many students who are looking to use their local urban areas as locations for their independent investigation (coursework). A vital part of each day was analysing data and how to present this, as well as evaluate the methods we have used. Given these are where the marks are in the coursework, the Field Studies centre has set the group up with skills that will support the whole investigation. You would think at this moment that the students would be tired and need some rest but no; an intense game of hide and seek was to be had before bed on Sunday.

On Monday, we went to Totnes - a transition town - to look at the health of the High Street. Totnes is full of independent shops where staff could indulge in an excellent coffee or two. Our final full day was spent walking from the lighthouse at the headland of Start Bay to Torcross. On the way we looked at different methods to measure effectiveness of coastal management, how to analyse sediment size as well as beach profiles and also sampled the local fish and chip scene.

Our last night was spent on the beach with a campfire. After a short field study in Slapton itself on Wednesday, we were back to the vans and on our way back to Chiswick.

Many thanks to Ms Nonnemacher for her guidance in planning the trip, and Mr Bluer and Miss Tirbhowan who supported the trip and did all the driving. The Field Studies Council staff as always have been supportive, engaging and brilliant - thanks so much for another fantastic trip.