GEOGRAPHY REVIEW 22-23

On the 8th and 9th September, 76 GCSE students and four Geography staff visited Snowdonia for two days. On the first day students left the field study centre at Bets-y-Coed to trek to the beautiful Cwm Idwal, where they were able to apply their learning from Geography to identify glaciated landforms and discover intriguing new features. Staff and leaders from the FSC did a great job keeping spirits high throughout, and students clearly enjoyed the adventure - most singing their hearts out on the coach home! Students were a real credit. Day 2 saw students carrying out practical fieldwork to investigate how the characteristics of the Afon Conwy river changes downstream. There was a sense of excitement amongst staff and students to be out on the moors and wading through rivers in wellies once again - everyone benefits and enjoys the practical side of Geography!

Next stop for the Geography department was the Salford Quays Regeneration trip:

On Tuesday 15th and Friday 18th November, Year 9 students had the opportunity to experience an educational visit to Salford Quays to investigate how successful regeneration has been in the area. The start of the day saw the students being led on tours around Salford Quays by the Geography department: Mr Bromley, Mr Williams, Mrs Jackson, and Mrs Weil.

On the tour the students explored the regenerated parts of the Quays, this included the Lowry, the Millennium

Footbridge, the Imperial War Museum, Media City, the NV buildings, Detroit Bridge and Docks, the Quays Water Sports Centre and the Lowry Outlet Mall. Here, the students digitally conducted environmental quality surveys. The data was collated on a spreadsheet and then the students were able to present the data using ArcGIS (a mapping and analysis software) in the ICT suites.

After a short lunch break in the Lowry Outlet Mall the students were given sites to investigate that they had to locate using their map skills that they had acquired in Years 7 and 8. They then conducted Pedestrian counts and surveys which would help them determine whether or not regeneration had been a success in Salford Quays.

An enjoyable time was had by all and the students gained some invaluable experience collecting primary geographical data.

The field work continued with our GCSE cohort building on their skills from Year 9 with a trip to Ancoats: On Friday 13 January, 49 GCSE geographers embarked to Ancoats, aiming to investigate how sustainable its regeneration had been. After taking the tram to New Islington, we walked alongside the canal, taking it in. It was interesting to see a blend of historic, preserved buildings and more modern, exciting ones. Once we arrived at George Leigh Street, we did an Environmental Quality Survey to see whether Ancoats was environmentally sustainable. We tracked the environment’s quality as we went further from the CBD, finding it decreased. However, the friendliness was off the charts, with people approaching to crack a few jokes and talk about their experiences living there.

We then broke off into groups for lunch and were allowed to explore the Northern Quarter- a vibrant area that had been transformed by gentrification. We were enticed by the independent shops and bohemian cafés, though McDonald’s was clearly the popular choice. Following this, we did a land use survey. Despite the initial moans and groans, we all enjoyed it so much. We got to enter all sorts of buildings and talk to people to see how the area was being used. We finished the field trip by doing a sustainability audit, with everyone contribution their views and engaging in the spirited discussion, before returning back.

M Bromley