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On Monday 29th June fourteen year 10 students travelled to Norfolk for a three day residential. The aim of the visit was to deepen and broaden their understanding of unfamiliar landscapes, in particular the conservation and management of rivers and coasts. We stretched their understanding and concept of Geography by investigating ‘GCSE’ and ‘A level’ issues such as the pressure of land management and stakeholder viewpoints.

On arrival to Holt Hall the students were amazed by the beautiful grounds of the Victorian Mansion they were to stay in. Students quickly settled in before we departed to catch the high tide at Moreston, for a seal boat trip to the end of Blakeney point. Holt hall had organised for the National Trust Warden, Ajay, to provide us an insight into the nature conservation of this internationally important Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). In the evening the students collated their field work and met in the Hall Library for a lively and entertaining debate on the future conservation of the SSSI. After dinner, Mr Ewers and Ms Corner led a dusk to dark walk through the beautiful Beech woodland, playing sardines and 40:40 home. We rounded off the evening with a campfire and marshmallows.

Students were up early on day two and, after breakfast, quickly kitted up with wellies and waders for a morning of practical river work. It was a beautifully hot day and our students stepped boldly into the rivers. They measured the morphology of the river and learnt about cutting edge conservation techniques devised by professors at UCL. All the students were active and engaged. There was some great team work, with everyone in the river and measuring. After a barbeque lunch back at Holt Hall, we descended excitedly down to the lake for a raft building challenge. Students had a brief instruction on three types of know (Reef, Hitch and square lashing) to enable the teams to co-operate and build their vessels! Each team then launched their rafts and to the lake and with Kayak helmets on and oars in hand had to row their team to the central island and back. All rafts stayed afloat even if some looked a little precarious! That evening, students reviewed the day and prepared for their following day coastal investigation. They worked in the lab up to 8:30pm! We all then took part in a Mini sports days with traditional events such as spin and run, sack race, three-legged race and egg catching! One of the highlight of the trip was the chance to play freely in the beautiful ground of the hall.

On the last day, students were up early with bags packed and rooms cleaned. After breakfast the Holt Hall catering staff remarked on our student’s fabulous appetites and how much fruit we ate! Good healthy diets all round. Students left lovely comments on the Hall message board thanking the staff for all their care. Finally we were off to our last stop at Overstrand, to investigate the impact of cliff erosion. Students were able to interview a local resident and learnt about all the coastal protection strategies. On the hottest day of the year we were all relieved to get our shoes off and go for a well needed paddle in the sea.

Overall:

• Excellent preparation for OCR B GCSE Geography Sustainable Decision Making paper
• Active learning – students commenting how the field trip brought their learning to life and they learnt more in the three days that in three weeks in the classroom
• Students displayed great attentiveness and intrigue, insight and inquisition
• Also great recall and retention of information (especially demonstrated in the evening classes)
• Lively debates and discussions
• Focused on tasks and excellent effort
• Holt Hall impressed with student’s attitude and willingness to learn and ask questions
• Maturity displayed by all students (including cleaning up after meals), representing the Academy very positively
• Thoroughly enjoyed by all

Ms H Corner and Mr R Ewers