Shaping Our Coastlines

Department News: Geography

Year 12s have been busy collecting geographical data in the field. The new KS4 and KS5 syllabus requires young geographers to reconnect with the human and physical processes shaping the world around them. The new linear reformed courses all have a much greater focus on the geography of the UK and independent enquiry.

Years 12, 11 and 10 have to undertake 2 days of fieldwork, investigating the socio-economic variations in their local area and the human and physical processes shaping our coastlines or rivers. These are both highly topical themes for study and have yielded fascinating results. For example, whilst London is considered a wealthy world city, almost 40% of its young people are considered to be living in poverty. Earlier in the year we set out to look at these extremes on a micro scale across Harrow, and found that even across one borough there were great variations in environmental quality, economic status and quality of life.

This term, Year 12 were looking at the impacts sea-level rise and global warming are having on our coastal resorts. We set off to Clacton-on-Sea in Essex and studied the physical process shaping the coastline by measuring rates of erosion, long-shore drift and beach profiling. We also looked at the town of Jaywick and considered the impacts of more varied and extreme weather, cheap package holidays abroad and the lack of government investment is potentially having on UK coastal resorts.

The students will now be examined on their methods and findings in their summer examinations. The trips are also a great opportunity to practice field-work techniques ready for their coursework next year, where students have to compile an independent field-work enquiry of 4000 words on a geographical topic of their choosing. Year 10 are due to carry out their coastal fieldwork on the 5th July (hopefully with better weather conditions). If you still need to pay for transport, this can be done via ParentPay.

Miss Cleary #HEHSGeog

Head of Geography