Our year 13 geography students have enjoyed an exciting and enriching fieldwork trip to North Yorkshire this week, developing the practical skills and geographical understanding needed to prepare for their A level qualification.
Based at the Cranedale Field Studies Centre, students took part in a packed programme of investigations, combining hands-on fieldwork with expert tuition and classroom sessions to help them understand how to collect, analyse and present geographical data.
The trip began in Beverley, where students investigated the urban heat island effect, measuring microclimate variables at locations from Westwood Pasture into the town centre. They explored how temperature changes with distance from the central business district and considered how land use, buildings and urban structures influence local conditions.
In Scarborough, students explored the concept of changing places, investigating how people experience and perceive different locations. Using a range of qualitative and quantitative techniques, including emotional mapping, word pictures, observation and the analysis of different representations of place, they developed a deeper understanding of how a place’s identity can be explored through geographical research.
Thursday took students to the spectacular coastline of Flamborough Head, where they investigated coastal landscapes and processes. Through field sketches, observations of erosion and weathering, and beach surveys at Selwicks Bay, students collected data on beach gradients and sediment sizes to explore the effects of longshore drift. They also considered sampling strategies and how geographical processes operate within a wider coastal system.
The final day took students into Dalby Forest to investigate the water and carbon cycles. Through practical activities including vegetation surveys, tree measurements, infiltration tests and stream measurements, students explored how these cycles operate in a real-world environment and how fieldwork can be used to test geographical theories.
Of course, the trip was about more than fieldwork alone. Students enjoyed staying at Cranedale, there was even time to celebrate one student’s 18th birthday, adding a special moment to an already memorable few days.
The trip has been a fantastic opportunity for students to put their classroom learning into practice, build confidence in their fieldwork skills and enjoy Geography in action. We are incredibly proud of their enthusiasm, engagement and teamwork throughout the week and look forward to seeing how they apply their new knowledge and skills to their studies.
A huge thank you to the team at Cranedale Field Studies Centre for providing such an outstanding experience and to everyone who helped make the trip so valuable and enjoyable.
