Studying in the Field

Lower Sixth Geography students from Pipers made the most of a trip to Snowdonia, over the weekend, participating in two full days of fieldwork. The focus on their work was on glacial landscapes, which is part of the Physical Geography specification, as well as “Changing places”, part of the Human Geography specification. 

After travelling to Cwm Idwal, in the Glyderau in typical Welsh weather, the girls walked around the lake, sketching features and learning about the role of ice in this dramatic landscape. Measurements of striations were taken before moving on to the Rôche Moutonnée in the stunning Ffranco Valley. 

After a good night’s sleep, the girls were fuelled for the second day with an early start to Llandudno where their first appointment was with Mostyn Estates who work on behalf of the town’s key landowner. The girls learnt about the generations of their family that have been extremely influential in the planning of Llandudno, from the origins as a town to the future where they are currently funding their largest ever project worth £10m. 

This was then followed on with a meeting with Councillor Evans, JP from Llandudno Town Council, who shared his wealth of experience on continuity and change, having served on the Town Council for 43 years. After a tour of the chambers and mayor’s parlour, the girls left with books about the town and pin badges from the Council. 

Following this, the girls undertook a range of data collection techniques to aid their understanding of the perceptions, conflicts and contrasts within the town which will be useful for the students’ forthcoming AS examinations. 

Despite the challenging conditions due to the wind and rain bought by Storm Callum, the students still had the opportunity to develop their fieldwork skills through observations and data collection – something that will be most useful to them throughout the year to come and looking ahead to Upper Sixth.