Every year the Year 10 Geographers visit Eastbourne and Stratford, London as part of their GCSE fieldwork studies. The forecast showers didn’t arrive on the south coast on Monday, 15th June, and the pupils conducted the beach profiling, groyne surveys and other methods with efficiency and ease aiming to assess the effectiveness of the coastal defences while considering the impact of climate change and potential sea level rises. We found the local seagulls were more problematic this year, one landing on my head while eyeing up my sandwich, leaving an unwelcome deposit on my trouser leg! Another group of persistent seagulls took a fancy to some ice creams, one literally taking it out of a pupil’s hand! Members of the public were intrigued by the large group (92) working on the beach and commented on how well behaved they all were. Naturally we ensured they knew we were from TWGGS! The trip to Stratford, London the next day went well (without pesky seagulls!) Visiting different locations across the town enabled the pupils to collect data about the quality of life and compare areas that had benefited from Regeneration. Many fieldwork data collection methods were collated, but the highlight for many pupils was probably the lure of the Westfield Shopping Centre, itself a site of urban regeneration (previously a landfill and industrial site!) Yet again it was a pleasure to accompany our Geographers on this year 10 trip, supported kindly by Ms Jacquin, Mr Mahon, Mrs Finlayson, Mr Jones and Miss Richardson.
Mrs Bowler