GCSE GEOGRAPHY FIELDWORK TRIP TO THE EAST SUSSEX COAST
The weather was hot and sunny , and we were excited to go on our first trip in 14 months !
On Tuesday 11 May over 120 Year 10 IGCSE Geography students travelled by coach ( in our masks !) to the East Sussex coast for the first school trip following the lifting of Covid-19 travel restrictions .
Linked to the Coastal Environments theme , the aim of the trip was to investigate the coastal form and process occurring along the stretch of coastline between Fairlight , Pett Level and Camber Sands .
We first visited Camber Sands beach , near Rye . Camber Sands is the only sand dune system in East Sussex and a large stretch of it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest ( SSSI ). Here we studied sand dune formation , vegetation succession , and threats and management .
At Pett Level , we practised our sampling and primary data collection techniques . All groups carried out beach profiling using ranging poles , clinometers and tape measures . A beach profile is a side view of a beach running from the sea to the back of the beach . At each point along our beach profile we also sampled the sediment on the beach to find out the size and shape of material . We used quadrats , callipers and the Power ’ s Roundness Index . We also carried out some wave characteristics calculations and bipolar surveys to assess coastal defences , such as seawalls , groynes and embankments .
The trip was great fun and really useful ! We are now looking forward to another Geography fieldwork enquiry trip , on the theme of Urban Environments , to East London .
Monty Thompson and Calla Constantine , Year 10
At Fairlight , we produced annotated sketches of the cliffs and beaches , and their features . At Cliff End , we learned about some fossils and some dinosaur footprints from 70 million years ago , as well as a sunken forest – a relic from 8000 years ago , when sea levels were about 30 metres lower than today !
110 TRIPS , CLUBS AND ACTIVITIES