Taking Geography outside the classroom

Twenty two keen and eager Upper Sixth Geographer students accompanied by Kate Palmer and Louise Wheaton set off early from the Swan Building to the Field Studies Council Centre at Slapton Sands in Devon. This is a beautiful part of the country and a good place for the students to develop their Geography knowledge further.

We were here to study physical and human geography in the real world and to see the theories we'd covered in class put into practice.


The students looked at biotic and abiotic features of the ancient woods near Slapton as part of their Biogeography module and also collected data across the shingle beach ridge to see the change in plant species and soil conditions as they move inland. Other days involved the comparison of different urban areas of Plymouth and an interesting case study of gentrification of an old naval building.

The final day was a whistle stop tour around Exeter to see the redevelopment of the retail area in response to other competitiors such as Cribb’s Causeway in Bristol. The students had to devise hypotheses, collect data as part of a team, and then analyse and interpret this data back in the classroom. The sessions went on well into the evening, and were enjoyed by all. Afterwards, we had some free time to relax, watch television, play Articulate and get ready for another full day out in the field.


We were extremely lucky with the weather (which is pretty unusual for Geography fieldtrips!) The students gained some excellent experience to apply to their A2 exams – and as a group are learning ‘to think like a geographer’ much more effectively.

– Words and photos by Kate Palmer, Head of Geography