By Mrs Swan (Head of Geography)
On Thursday 24th September, Year 9 set off for our annual two-day residential to Castleton and the Peak District. The trip allows pupils to experience human and physical geography first-hand, with this year's focus on evaluating how sustainable human activity in the area really is.
We were lucky with the weather, making the most of the spectacular landscape. At the Upper Derwent Valley and Derwent Dam, pupils explored how the area has been transformed to provide water for settlements beyond the National Park, weighing the benefits against the social and environmental costs, including the flooding of the former villages of Derwent and Ashopton.
In Castleton, pupils investigated how tourism has shaped the village, considering both the support it brings to local shops and cafés and the challenges of congestion, litter and footpath erosion.
The afternoon included a walk through the dramatic landscape around Mam Tor, the Broken Road and Winnats Pass, where pupils saw first-hand the rotational slumping that led to the closure of the A625 in 1979 and considered why rerouting was more sustainable than continuing repairs.
Evening activities gave everyone a chance to relax and get creative, with bunting-making sparking plenty of laughter and new friendships.
Friday brought another full day of Geography. Pupils carried out river fieldwork on Peakshole Water, collecting data on channel characteristics and investigating how and why the two sides of a meander differ.
Our final stop was Treak Cliff Cavern, where pupils explored the limestone caves and learned about the importance of Blue John in connecting Castleton's geology and mining history with tourism and village identity today.
The pupils' engagement throughout was excellent: they threw themselves into the fieldwork, asked thoughtful questions and made the most of learning outside the classroom. Back at school, they will use their evidence to evaluate the sustainability of human activity in Castleton.
A huge thank you to all the staff who accompanied the trip and, most importantly, to the Year 9 pupils for their enthusiasm and good humour throughout.
View the scenic photos here.
