As part of the AQA A level geography course studied at Highlands, all pupils are required to complete a 4,000 word geographical fieldwork investigation, non-exam assessment (NEA) worth 20% of their final grade. The NEA can be linked to either human geography, physical geography, or both, and it is designed to improve pupils’ independent and critical thinking skills, data processing skills, field techniques, and extended writing skills.

On the morning of Monday 7th October, we piled into the school minibus and set off on our road trip down to Somerset to begin our 5-day NEA field trip investigation. Once we arrived at Nettlecombe Court in Exmoor National Park, we met with our leader for the week, headed to the classroom for a lesson on field techniques, and then drove to Minehead to practise the skills the students had just learnt. Pupils were split up into four different groups and were tasked to walk through Minehead and gather survey data linking to the concept of “place”.

The weather on Tuesday 8th was very rainy. But, as the classic saying goes, ‘you can’t have a geography field trip without a bit of rain’. We woke up to a full English breakfast being served in the grand hall, put on our waterproofs and wellington boots, jumped into the minibus and drove across to Porlock Bay; a shingle beach with a marsh behind, where we spent the entire day collecting data on coastal processes. Pupils used a variety of field equipment such as a clinometer, quadrat, and a calliper to measure biodiversity, sediment size, and beach angles.

On Wednesday 9th, we headed back to Minehead but, this time, the day was spent looking at coastal management along the coast (sea walls, rock groynes, rip-rap) and learning how to measure the effectiveness of the defences. Pupils then headed off for a fish and chip lunch before heading back to Nettlecombe Court to make the tough decision of which of the 3 days to base their NEA on. Pupils spent the rest of the afternoon and evening finalising an investigation title and preparing their research techniques for the following day.

Thursday 10th was the big day the pupils had all been working towards; collecting all of their primary data for their investigation. After finalising their projects the previous night, three pupils decided to return to Porlock Bay to conduct a physical geography investigation, and nine pupils returned to Minehead (three for physical geography, and six for human geography). The pupils spent the entire day gathering data by themselves ranging from interviewing members of the public, measuring the size of rocks, and collecting soil samples to take back to the soil lab at the centre. After a long day of data collection, we finished off the night with a campfire up on the hill, and a late evening of card games in the classroom.

Friday 11th started off with one final English breakfast in the grand hall, and one last lesson in the classroom where the pupils began to process their primary data, create data presentation graphs, and conduct statistical analysis’ by using statistical tests such as Chi-squared, Spearman’s rank, and Mann-Whitney U. We then loaded up into the minibus and began the long road trip back to Highlands School.

Well done to all twelve year 13 students for their hard work on the field trip! After half term, the pupils will begin writing up their 4,000 word NEA.