Year 11 GCSE Geography Fieldtrip to Swanage – October 2017
Halle Greenwood and Libby Kershaw write about the recent Geography fieldtrip down to the Dorset Coast.
Year 11 Geography makes a hit! The 4-day adventure to the sunny south of England has been one to remember. Weeks and days prior to the Swanage trip dread clouded the mind; the idea of work away from school didn’t go down well and we all didn’t relish the visit. The early morning rise and being at school for 7:30 was horrible, but the coach was lively with music booming out the speakers, courtesy of the lads at the back of the coach who kept spirits high throughout the trip. The 6 hour coach journey passed with a few McDonalds stops along the way, but when we arrived the room plan was not as it should have been. After a few amendments the original rooming plan was put into place. The Swanage Centre was wonderful although most did not care for the food on offer (despite it being home cooked food and not just burgers!!). The dinner menu seemed compromising but tucking into the 5* steak Halle broke her braces so that was a bit of a put off. However I must say, the cup of tea in a morning, orange juice and breakfasts were great. But the semi decent food made the outings even more of a treat – a chippy meal is always better by the sea and Dino’s the pizza place is one to remember! The fat greasy pizza definitely lightened the mood.
As there were two coaches (100 students in total) we split into two different study days. Day 1 our coach went to Swanage in the morning to complete our Human Geography study. We mapped the town centre and carried out Environment Quality Studies. In the afternoon we travelled to Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door to study the stunning coastal scenery. Day 2 meant we had a 6-mile walk back to the centre after being dropped off at Shell Bay in order to undertake the Physical Geography fieldwork. The walks may have been tiring but the stunning coastal scenery, good company and even better music and singing made the 6-mile hike fly by. As everyone arrived back at the centre, the thought of an hour and a half of Geography wasn’t what we wanted but the thought of having a mess around in the pool later and in the games room pulled everyone through. We all gathered all our primary data and now have to complete our write-up in preparation for our paper 3 examination later on in the year.
3 nights, 4 days in a stunning part of the UK. What an adventure!
