This week, Year 12 A Level Geographers have taken part in four days of fieldwork to give them the skills and understanding needed to go away and plan their own Independent Investigation, which is worth 20% of their A Level. We are incredibly lucky to live in a part of the country where we can conduct a diverse range of physical and human geography investigations without travelling far from home – and we have certainly made the most of this!
On Friday we conducted studies in the local area, looking at change on Sutton High Street, before trying out some methods to investigate carbon and water cycle studies in the many green spaces on our school site. On Monday we were joined by our very own Chair of Governors, Dr Laverick, who took us on an incredibly interesting and informative guided tour of central London. We visited many areas, including Chinatown, Soho, New Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road and considered the history and change that has taken place in each of these unique parts of our city. On Tuesday we spent a rainy day in Brighton, spending the morning on the beach (luckily between rain showers!) measuring beach profiles and considering the different coastal management we could see. Then in the afternoon the students toured the North Laine area of the city to investigate how gentrification and street art contribute to the sense of place in the area (unfortunately not avoiding the rain this time!). Finally, the students spent Wednesday at Battersea Power Station planning and undertaking their own mini-fieldwork investigation, putting into practice all the skills they have learnt during the previous days.
The students have demonstrated their excellent skills of geographical enquiry throughout the week, despite the weather conditions, and have remained focussed and enthusiastic despite their increasing tiredness as the busy week has worn on! The Geography Department cannot wait to see the outcomes of their independent investigations this time next year!
