YEAR 8 GEOGRAPHY FIELDTRIP

The first week back after May half term saw all of Year 8 visit Marsden Bay and South Shields Promenade over the course of four days, to conduct both human and physical Geography fieldwork.

The first stop was Marsden Bay where we sat atop the headland overlooking the bay. Here we were able to see the physical characteristics of the bay, including caves, arches, stacks, and stumps. We learned how to complete a field sketch and then practised these independently before heading down onto the beach.

Whilst on the beach we looked at some physical geography in action: erosion and mass movement. We learned about constructive and destructive waves and then completed a wave count to try and determine the types of waves on the day.

The final physical geography fieldwork technique we carried out here was a sediment analysis. This involved collecting pebbles along a transect from the sea to the cliffs, measuring each piece and determining its ‘roundness’. We made our way along the beach to have a closer look at the stack on the beach and also Marsden Rock, where we had some time to compete in a ‘Beach Art’ competition where we created mermaids, turtles, and the school logo using sand, stones and seaweed!

After this we made our way to South Shields Promenade and stopped for chips, and a turn on the claw machine but only Isla managed to win all week! She named her new seagull ‘Steven’.

The final part of our trip was a walk along the promenade to complete our human geography fieldwork. We learned about the design of the regeneration and analysed the quality of the environment. Our last human geography method was a questionnaire to gather the views of local people. We asked questions such as ‘how far have you travelled?’ and ‘how would you rate the quality of the environment?’

Year 8 were beyond fantastic and were a real credit to both themselves and school! Not even the odd rain spell dampened their spirits!