By Mrs McPhail (Geography Teacher)

On Tuesday, the A Level Geographers gathered in The Hub ready to embark on an afternoon of fieldwork in Bedford. Being so centrally located in the town has real benefits to being able to begin fieldwork immediately having left the school gates.

As part of the Geography A Level specification the students have to make a study of a local place so armed with booklets and digital surveys, data collection began in earnest and happily in dry weather.

We followed an established route from the Embankment to Queen’s Park stopping at set sites to examine our perceptions of place, examples of investment and change. Bedford replicates much of what we see across British high streets, but the historic nature of our town is always a surprise to some students who don't know Bedford as well as others.

At each site the students observed people and peoples use of space, completed Environmental Quality surveys and used a GIS app on their phones to complete a survey that we had pre-planned. Capturing data in ‘real time’ is fantastic and allows Geographers to analyse and present data using complex skills. The information gathered provides key material but is also vital preparation for the NEAs (Non-Examined Assessment coursework) that the students will complete independently this year following our fieldwork to Southwold in May.

The fieldwork route ended at the Higgins Museum which holds a permanent exhibit called Somewhere in England where the students looked at the history behind Bedford’s growth as an important town and the Great Bedfordians section which highlights the key influencers throughout time. We reflected on who might be the next generation of people who might make a difference to Bedford.

Follow @bgs_geography on Instagram for all the highlights from the Geography department and this recent trip…