GCSE Geographers head to the coast to ‘learn from the soles of their shoes'

A cohort of Fifth Form Geographers, armed with all manor of equipment, ventured down to Dorset to gather data to prepare for their upcoming examination in the summer. 

After a long bus journey and the prospect of two days on a beach, we were all glad to see the sun come out and bless us with beautiful conditions for the two days. Anoraks away, Monday was spent ‘learning from the soles of our shoes’, visiting different parts of the Jurassic coastline that demonstrated spectacular examples of coastal management, erosional and depositional landforms, finishing at the world famous Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door. 

On the Tuesday another glorious day greeted the intrepid geographers and the group set off to Swanage Bay full of enthusiasm and intellectual purpose for a day of data collection. During their time on the beach there was a plethora of data collected, with the aim of proving whether longshore drift was the major process influencing the beach’s profile and features.  

Inspired, but tired, the group jumped back on the coach filled with confidence and geographical knowledge, eager to get back into the classroom to consolidate their knowledge and prepare for Paper 3 in the summer. 

Will Clapp, Geography Department