Sophie Harrington-Law (Lower Sixth)

On the windy morning of Friday 13th March, the Lower Sixth geography students embarked on a weekend-long field trip to Scarborough and along its neighbouring East coast; allowing for an extensive scope of data collection and experience of both physical and human Geography within a broad range of comparable/contrasting areas.

During the trip, memories and experiences were gained, as the class were given the opportunity to experiment with specialist equipment for data-collection and explore entirely new communities and areas such as Beverly, Scarborough and Flamborough Head.

The range of experience was broad and extensive over the course of the weekend; on Friday the primary focus in Beverly was the observation of the extent of micro-climates in relation to the CBD (central business district). We collected data significant to the temperature, wind speed/direction, humidity, and sunlight concentration, which all culminated in later discussion of data layout and optimal diagrams.

On Saturday, we hit the town for our detailed analysis of Scarborough in relation to Bedford, examining the question ‘what makes places great’, conducting emotional surveys of each distinct location, and studying residents in non-participant surveys, concluding and coding our results at the end of the day. On Sunday, we set out on an exploration of Flamborough Head (and other locations along the coast such as the Holderness coast and Hornsea), allowing for the unique ability to study and inspect physical aspects and attributes of the coastline weathered so brutally by the North Sea.

Overall, despite the blustery winds and tiring days, the students were provided the invigorating opportunity to immerse ourselves in experiencing, and being involved in, our coursework, giving us a far better breadth and depth of understanding the subject.