On Wednesday 3rd May, the GCSE Geography pupils went on a field trip to Freshwater Bay and for a boat trip around The Needles. At Freshwater Bay we sat on the berm (a ridge at the top of the beach caused by destructive waves) before taking a closer look at the coastal features there; stacks, stumps, caves and the wave cut platform. We also examined the hard engineering in place before having a “hit the stack from a distance” competition (won by Tom W).

At Alum Bay we looked at 40 million years worth of rocks that form the Upper Chalk of the Cretaceous into the Tertiary across the extinction event, before embarking on a choppy trip out to The Needles to take a closer look at the chalk formations. The pupils were amazed to see the view through a gap in The Needles to St Catherine’s where the lighthouse was flashing.

The pupils were a credit to the school, as commented by members of the public, so we thank them for this. We hope that the memory of what they have experienced stays with them throughout the course and beyond.