At the end of the spring term all AS Geographers took a journey into Snowdonia national park for a geographical investigation to retrieve data for our coursework. We spent three days at Bangor University venturing out to a new location every day.

The Geography department has been on numerous trips:

In July 2011 27 students went on a Geography trip to China. Here we visited: Beijing, the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, the Olympic stadium.

Great Wall and Summer Palace

Xian and the Terracotta Army

In 2010 we went to Iceland. Here we saw the northern lights, glaciers, waterfalls and plate boundaries as well as an erupting volcano. We have also visited Paris to study tourism and world cities.

Other annual trips include: Bangor, London, Birmingham and Shropshire.

Italy 2012

The Geography department has just returned from a trip to Italy. 23 Year 10 pupils enjoyed 5 days in Italy. The trip included:

A flight to Naples, stay in Sorrento, trip to the volcano, Vesuvius and to the Roman remains at Pompeii. A day at Solfatara and the underground catacombes in Naples. A visit to the monastery and commonwealth war cemetry at Monte Cassino and finally an excursion to Rome and the Vatican.

Geography gives us a unique understanding of people and places. All human societies have to arrange living space, economic production, distribution and consumption.

People have many common concerns and longings. Yet no two places are alike. We can all see the differences and wonder about reasons.

Geography, by studying real people in real places, shows how daily lives are shaped by local circumstances – not only the physical characteristics of the place, but the social, cultural, economic and political opportunities and constraints. Geography shows how each local place exists in a regional, national, international and global context.

Places and people are amazing. Geography is the key to understanding what makes them so.

And there’s a bonus – geography is a practical subject, teaching skills young people need across the school curriculum, at home and at work. Through geography students learn about map use (including GIS), data analysis, problem solving and ICT. They find out how to work alone and in a team. They work directly in the real world –on’ fieldwork’. They gain an awareness of social and environmental responsibility.

There has never been more Geography! There has never been more reason to learn it at school!

www.geography.org.uk - GA