The Geography Department’s first residential trip since lockdown took place this week as 47 Year 10 and 11’s visited the Jurassic coast in Dorset.

Mr Gerrard, Mrs Richards and Mrs Bijnens joined Mrs Stevens and Miss Hickman for a full-on three days of fieldwork fun.

We drove straight to the stunning sand dunes of Studland to investigate plant succession across the ecosystem. It is a tricky concept to teach in the classroom, so this enabled the students to get a real sense of how sand dunes are created first hand.

The following day students investigated the different coastal management techniques along Swanage Bay. They put geographical theory to the test by measuring longshore drift and the impact erosion can have on the coast. The last day was a change in focus to human Geography. A visit to Boscombe took place to investigate the effectiveness of the regeneration schemes put in place to improve the area. We even met and talked to some of the investors and planners who were on a site visit in Boscombe at the same time!

A huge thank you to all the students who came; they were fantastic company, working hard during the day and during the classroom sessions.