14 October 2021
Mr David Lock, Head of Geography
Year 10 geographers had an early start to their Dorset field trip on Friday 1 October, leaving Woldingham in bright sunshine at 7.30am. From Studland we took a ferry crossing to Sandbanks to walk along the beach and through the sand dunes, noting successional changes. After lunch at Red End Point, we kayaked along the coast towards Old Harry Rocks, which sit at the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast, before heading to our weekend home, the YHA in Swanage.
On Saturday, a hearty breakfast prepared everyone for the day’s data collection fieldwork at four sites along the River Wey, just north of Weymouth. This was successfully completed despite the atrocious weather. Some very wet students returned to the YHA. After drying out, they enjoyed some downtime in Swanage before supper and completed the day with a write-up of the fieldwork results.
A gloriously sunny day greeted us on Sunday - perfect weather for our visit to Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door. After a long walk and climb with spectacular views along the Jurassic Coast, everyone enjoyed an ice cream on the beach before setting off back to Woldingham. Thanks to Mrs Jenkins and honorary geographer Mr Rae for their hard work on the trip and to the students who worked hard and with brilliant good humour.
The following Friday it was the turn of our Upper Sixth geographers to leave Woldingham. Their destination, Nettlecombe Court (a field centre on the edge of Exmoor, Devon), to spend four days preparing for and beginning their NEA (non-exam assessment) for their A Level.
This time, the weather was kind for our field trips, which included Minehead and the small town of Watchet, where the students carried out numerous fieldwork data collection techniques. These were followed by work in the classroom until early evening. The students tackled everything in good spirit.
By the time of our departure on Monday, all the students had made a positive start to the NEA, which they will now endeavour to complete by the end of term. I would like to thank them all for making the trip such an enjoyable and positive experience and Miss Bennett for her help and support.