Year 13 A Level Geography field trip to Dorset

On Monday 26th September the BSP Year 13 Geographers, Ms Paybody and Mr Bilobrk bravely set off at a very unsociable hour to catch the Eurostar to London followed by a train to Wareham in beautiful Dorset. We spent the afternoon looking at regeneration in Poole to find out whether or not it met the needs of the local community. Then we had time to settle in at Brenscombe Outdoor Centre before dinner and analyse the data collected.

The next day offered the students a great chance to explore the water cycle and the carbon cycle by measuring infiltration rates in wooded areas and open pastures. They then measured the amount of carbon stored in evergreen and deciduous woodland. This was followed by an afternoon investigating the effectiveness of coastal management strategies at Swanage Bay. In the evening, there was a game of football and a highly competitive round or two of Linkee.

On Wednesday, the students finalised their Enquiry question for their NEA before a trip to study sand dune succession at Studland and enjoy an ice cream. They then had the afternoon and Thursday to collect any final primary data they needed for their chosen project. There was just time for a yummy fish and chip lunch before catching the train back to London to get the Eurostar to Paris. 

All in all a very enjoyable and productive few days. Now comes the hard part, writing up the final report, which is worth 20% of the students’ final A Level Geography grade.