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Year 12 A-Level Geography students at Westminster City School embarked on a residential trip to Flatford Mill in Suffolk, an outdoor fieldwork centre run by the Field Studies Council (FSC) from Monday 26 to Friday 30 June.

In addition to exploring a vast range of geographical issues and processes in both human and physical landscapes in the area, the aim of the week was for students to plan and conduct their own individual fieldwork investigation to form part of their Geography NEA coursework, which is worth 20% of their overall A-level grade.

Throughout the residential, students stayed in an impressive building called Valley Farm, a beautiful medieval farmhouse owned by the National Trust which still has its original 15th century staircase. Another noteworthy building that students had the opportunity to explore within the grounds of the fieldwork centre is Willy Lott’s cottage, better known as a prominent feature of John Constable’s world-renowned painting, ‘The Hay Wain’. Students compared their real life experience of seeing the building in person to its representation in the painting, prompting them to think about how far we can trust art to accurately show the true nature of a place.

Upon arrival on the first afternoon, students walked through the countryside along the River Stour to the picturesque village of Dedham to carry out an investigation into the features of a rural community. For many, observing the stark contrast between the peaceful rural character of Dedham and the bustling location of our school in the heart of Central London was an eye-opening and unfamiliar experience that pushed them out of their comfort zones, inciting much discussion about how our individual life experiences can affect how we feel when visiting new places.

On the second day, we visited the coastline at Walton-on-the-Naze, a scenic stretch of beach on the east coast of Essex boasting an array of coastal landforms that students have studied in the classroom. Sophisticated fieldwork equipment was used to investigate these landforms and assess the success of coastal management strategies in place here to protect the coastline from being eroded by the oncoming waves. This experience helped to bring the A-level Coasts topic to life, allowing the coastal processes and the power of the sea to be observed first-hand by all.

The third day involved a human geography study in the town of Ipswich, specifically focusing on the recent regeneration of the waterfront area and exploring the impacts of this on the local community. The contrast between the old derelict factories in the industrial part of town and the new vibrant street art leading to the refurbished waterfront apartments was again an important point of discussion amongst our students, allowing them to see first-hand how urban change looks and feels in real life beyond the theory learned in the classroom.

Students then designed their own fieldwork investigations and spent the Thursday and Friday morning of the trip independently collecting and analysing their own data based on their individual areas of interest. We look forward to reading their final coursework reports when they are complete next year.

Ms Baulcomb, Subject Leader of Geography at Westminster City School said:

“This residential was truly a transformational experience for many of our students. Learning outdoors in a practical way is a hugely important part of Geography as a subject, and it was a real joy to see so many of our students thrive and flourish in a fieldwork environment, especially those who are sometimes more shy or reserved in a classroom setting!

“I have been impressed by their commitment to working collaboratively with their peers, showing an abundance of curiosity and willingness to learn, and taking on new challenges with a positive attitude. I am hugely proud of what they have managed to achieve this week!”

We would like to thank the FSC team at Flatford Mill for another excellent fieldwork residential experience and look forward to visiting again next year with our new cohort of Year 12 Geographers!