First year Geography students from King Edward VI College prepare for their first exams with a field trip to Shropshire.
There is nothing like experiencing an environment to understand it – and this has been a key principle for the Geography Department at King Edward VI College in Nuneaton.
The whole first year from the department went on a residential trip to Shropshire to investigate rivers as part of their course.
Day one was spent in the beautiful surroundings on the Long Mynd investigating in detail the characteristics of a river. The day was planned to make sure they had plenty of preparation for their practical exam in January. Students worked in groups to measure a range of different factors to see if the reality matches the theories they have been studying. This included getting in to the river to measure channel size, looking at rock shapes and assessing the speed of the flow. It was a long walk up the valley but the students enjoyed themselves and gained a really good insight into the complex nature of rivers.
The second day was spent investigating the very topical subject of flooding in Shrewsbury. Students had the chance to practise skills such as land use surveys and discuss the factors that influence agencies when planning flood defences.
Student Amy Hughes said “This field trip offered lots of practice for data analysis and presentation of results; it was a great opportunity to refresh my memory of everything we had learnt in the classroom on the subject.”
Geography teacher and trip organiser Kate Phillips said “This sort of trip is invaluable for the students, both in terms of learning first-hand about key ideas and skills that underpin their studies but also as a great way of getting to know others in the department.”
The next trip planned is to Sorrento in March to look at the impact of volcanism in the Bay of Naples, including visits to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Vesuvius.