After the summer exams, all members of the third form attend a Geography field trip to Cardiff Bay where they look at the changes that have taken place over the last 15 years. Although it is now one of the largest waterfront developments in Europe, boasting a whole range of attractions, (particularly with the development of the new International Sports Village) it was once a declining industrial port which was badly in need of a face lift. The trip begins at the visitor centre, locally known as “The Tube” which was designed by William Alsop in the form of a giant telescope. After studying a large model of the bay area, students are taken on a tour of the bay itself in order to have a closer look at some of the main sites. These include the Welsh Assembly Building, the Norwegian Church and the new Welsh Millenium Centre which was constructed entirely from Welsh materials - very impressive! This is followed by a “road train” ride through the working dock and on to the Barrage itself, where students are able to see the lock gates in operation, before returning to the waterfront area by boat. Pupils then follow the “Taff Trail” past the Millenium Stadium and Brains Brewery to Sophia Gardens.
Form I Wye Valley Trip
The first form Geography field trip sees students studying the beautiful Wye valley and Forest of Dean. The Forest of Dean measures 22,500 acres of Royal Forest and boasts wild deer and boar among its inhabitants. Students leave the school, crossing the Wye bridge and examining the water treatment plant and WW2 Pill Box, on their way up the Kymin. The Garth reservoir, and the naval temple (making you proud to be British!) are visited on the way to the Suckstone, the largest boulder in Britain. The Suckstone is made of local “pudding stone” which is rock with pebbles in it that looks a bit like an old plum pudding and is a perfect spot for eating cheese sandwiches! The Biblins, King Arthur’s cave and Wyastone Leys, a fine country house are all treats in store for the return leg back to school, with very tired first form students in tow!
Bourneville and Cadbury World
Each year, Monmouth School second form students visit Cadbury World where they learn about chocolate, chocolate and yet more chocolate! Bourneville village is visited and its countryside feel and row of basic shops, make it feel like a different world from other parts of Birmingham. It is immaculately clean and tidy, maybe due to the lack of pubs and bars. The houses are all very smart and well kept, with gardens in the front and back, a rarity for factory workers of the 19th century. Every street has a different architectural design, with many houses similar in each street. The idyllic park containing tennis courts, a bowling green, a well-maintained cricket ground and the trickling Bourse brook are also visited. The factory itself is a Mecca for chocoholics! On entry, each student is given a Dairy Milk wafer bar and a packet of chocolate buttons. The history of chocolate and how it was brought to Britain is studied, together with its manufacture. Tempting vats of chocolate together with “the journey of the coco bean” ride is a treat indeed, but nothing surpasses the free samples!
VI.1 Field Trip.
Chi Squared, Spearman’s Rank, Lorenz Curve; for many people, these terms don’t mean much, but for the Monmouth School lower sixth Geographers, they are an essential part of the AS Applied Geographical Skills paper. To prepare for this examination, the lower sixth geographers spend 4 days at Nettlecombe Court in West Somerset. The accommodation comprises a grand Georgian manor house, but very little time is spent here as students set off, armed with wellies and waterproofs in order to collect data from meandering stream, pools and riffles, where river velocity, and wetted perimeters are some of the features investigated. Urban morphology studies see the students visit the county town of Taunton, set on the banks of the river Tone. Transects and trips to coffee houses fill this day! Porlock Bay is visited on the third day where variations in pebble size, beach gradients and sea defences are examined. The functions and services of small villages nestled in the Exmoor National Park are surveyed on the final day which sees exhausted but well informed A Level students return to Monmouth.