By Mrs McPhail (Geography Teacher)

The first overseas trip since the pandemic began very early on Thursday 23rd March when 45 Lower and Upper Sixth students (all geographers bar a handful) gathered in their hoodies outside BGS and set off for Iceland. 

As soon as we landed we began our tour. Greeted with sunshine which was to remain with us for the duration of our five day visit we were met by our Rayburn tour guide Rob - a retired Sixth Form geography teacher full of fun and interesting information - and off we went to explore the coast, smell the eggy sulphur and stand on the bridge between the two continental plates. All that on our first afternoon! 

Our base was Reykjavik and each day we had a jam-packed itinerary filled with geographical features that we ticked off as if it was normal to see such textbook landforms around every corner. The students wallowed in the hot geothermal waters of the secret lagoon on our first morning followed by arctic winds and freezing temperatures as we viewed the spectacular Gullfoss waterfall. Geysirs and Icelandic mud pools; ridges and lava flows; volcanic craters and basalt columns were just some of the highlights that we saw on the trip. 

A memorable moment was definitely the viewing of the Northern Lights that the students saw on the Friday evening not long after they had gone to bed. For staff and students this was the icing on the cake to a wonderful trip.

Here’s to the next visit to Iceland sometime soon… View scenic photos from the trip here. 

The students were a pleasure to take away and the Rayburn tour guide was very impressed with them. The quotes below sum it up:

Isabel Baker (Lower Sixth) said: “The trip to Iceland was utterly mesmerising and definitely 'once in a lifetime' for me. A stand out moment for me has got to be seeing the Northern Lights late one evening, the incredible swirling green sky was something that was absolutely worth getting out of bed for! I must admit I'm slightly regretting not taking Geography A Level now, having seen the unique physical geography around every corner of Iceland and appreciating numerous waterfalls and volcanic craters!”

Emily Pinkney (Lower Sixth) added: “Iceland was a fantastic trip and it gave me an excellent insight into real-life applications of the theory we have been studying in IB. For me, seeing the Northern Lights was a massive highlight of the trip, and I also found the Lava Exhibition very engaging. Rob was a great guide and I especially loved it when he took us to see the ‘secret waterfall’ at Seljalandsfoss!”

Sophia Osborne (Lower Sixth) reflected: “Iceland really lived up to all of my expectations - so many fantastic experiences from; seeing spectacular waterfalls, swimming in the secret lagoon and visiting Reynisfjara black sand beach. The trip widened my understanding of tectonic hazards and seeing the scale of the lava flow from the most recent volcanic eruption was very interesting. It was such a great trip and a personal highlight was seeing the northern lights which was an unforgettable experience.”