By Isabel H and Lucia F-R, Year 11

On Friday 20 September, Year 11 geographers travelled to Margam Discovery Centre, South Wales for the long-awaited GCSE geography field trip. After an early start we arrived at our destination ready for the afternoon at Newton Beach where we would carry out our coastal investigation: to assess the effectiveness of coastal defences. In groups of 4, we worked together to measure the sediment on the West and East side of the groynes using two poles and a clinometer and subsequently measured the size and angularity of rocks on the west side of the beach. The sky was very overcast, constantly threatening a downpour, but thankfully we finished the afternoon’s activities completely dry! Headed back to the centre having collected our data we had a lesson led by our guides Will and Alex where we developed key field work skills including data presentation and conclusion write ups. Following dinner, we all clustered in the common room to relax and play Dress to Impress after a very long day! 

The next morning offered no chance of sleeping in as us geographers had our first lesson of the day at 9:15 (not that early!). In this lesson we were given a brief history of Cardiff Bay, where we would be spending the day, and were informed of our investigation: how successful was the regeneration of Cardiff Bay. To carry out this investigation, we considered the aims of the regeneration and made hypotheses. The weather was no better than the previous day with a persistent light drizzle as we walked around the Bay from the Barrage to the Mermaid Quay. Throughout the walk we explored the buildings and their uses, which we later used to evaluate how successful Cardiff’s regeneration had been. We were given a 45 minute lunch break to revive our energy and some managed to sneak a quick takeaway Wagamama! In the afternoon, we interviewed people in Cardiff asking a series of questions that discussed the interviewees’ thoughts and opinions of the Bay. Also, we assessed the distribution of pedestrians within the bay through counting the number of people who passed us by in different sample areas during a set time. Soon we were all eager to return to the centre after another long but fun day. The evening session entailed our learning of how to present the data we collected as well as writing conclusions and evaluations. After dinner we were lucky enough to go and see the farm animals on the site, including alpacas, goats (the majority’s favourite), donkeys and sheep. 

Before a long journey home, on Sunday morning we carried out a last investigation at Nant Philip River. Here we investigated how the characteristics of the river change with distance downstream; these characteristics being width, depth, velocity and bed load size, using a range of equipment to do so such as tape measures and rulers. On return to the centre, we took a group photo outside the stunning (and apparently haunted) Margam Castle, but this stop was brief as it quickly started pouring with rain. Back at the centre, we gathered our stuff and boarded the coach ready for the journey back to school. 

Thank you very much to Mr Livings, Ms Parr, Ms Postlethwaite, Mr Hegarty for making this trip a possibility, for accompanying us and making the weekend so enjoyable. Thank you also to the guides Will and Alex for providing us invaluable lessons and skills for our GCSE exams.