Where did our Geographers go during October enrichment week?

Before heading to London for the enrichment week programmes, on Friday 22nd October, Year 12 Geographers visited FSC Amersham, in South Buckinghamshire, within the Chiltern Hills AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), within 30 hectares of mixed woodland, meadows and ponds which surround and conceal Amersham Substation. Students completed their Physical Geography of Hydrology and Fluvial Geomorphology module. Students carried out hydroslope, interception, infiltration and flooding studies in the local area. All had an informative and enjoyable day, with the weather holding out (something students would not be able to say on the next trip)! Opportunities to use specialist equipment and learn fieldwork techniques in Geography was beneficial in giving students the ability to see how what they’ve learnt in the classroom translates into real life and study the water cycle in more depth.

Whilst the inaugural GCSE group had a week residential in Pembrokeshire, Wales, visiting FSC Dale Fort for their enrichment week from Monday 25th to Friday 29th October 2021. The charming centre was built in 1856 to defend the Milford Haven waterway against invasion, and it has been a field centre since 1948. It was the ideal location to do a mixture of Physical and Human Geography studies, preparing students for the examinations at the end of the year. Pupils experienced rain, wind, and sun – many of which would be seen all in the space of the day. Students gleaned many new opportunities from river studies and traipsing through peatland to a day in Tenby, sampling the delights of Welsh cakes and tourism survey work. For many, this was their first experience being out in a rural British setting, with memories I am sure will last a lifetime.