A Level Geography Fieldtrip to Swanage

“On Friday 19 April, Lower 6 geographers departed on the highly anticipated fieldwork trip to Swanage, Dorset. The first stop of the trip was Durdle Door, where we measured beach profiles and pebble size of a high energy coastline. After admiring the spectacular view at lunch, we travelled to the nearby Lulworth Cove, where we repeated the same measurements and compared the contrasting high and low energy coastlines. The exciting first day ended with delicious fish and chips at Swanage Beach (despite minor interruptions from hungry seagulls!), followed by a challenging, but well-supported review of the day by our favourite geography teachers. Day two began with another beach trip; this time to Studland Bay to study the sand dunes and their many characteristics, whilst attempting to avoid the ticks and adders. We also met some fellow geographers; but they were hard to spot in the sand dunes as they were not wearing personalised hi-vis jackets like we were! Returning to Swanage, we departed on our fourth (and final!) beach trip to Swanage Beach where we measured the sediment surrounding the groynes to assess their impact on longshore drift. We also did a place survey comparing how people interacted with the beach at both Studland and Swanage. In the evening, we cooked a delicious meal, and the staff were highly impressed (Miss Clarke and Mrs Tate gave it a big tick). This was then followed by an exhilarating evening of "Kerplunk", as well as chats with fellow geographers from other schools. The third and last day of the trip was human geography focused, and we visited regenerated areas of Boscombe, doing separate data collection techniques to determine whether the regeneration was successful. After an ice cream treat, we departed home with a great variety of music on the minibus. Thank you to the Geography Department for an amazing fieldtrip - it gets a big tick from the Lower 6 geographers!”

- Alice, Hannah, Bui Ge Jaimie (L6)