ON Thursday and Friday, February 6 and 7, 37 pupils and four staff from the geography department travelled to London to experience some of the natural and human features associated with the largest urban area of the UK.

Some of the activities the pupils participated in include a visit to the Thames Flood Barrier to gain an understanding of how the £1.5 billion flood defence scheme is used to protect the residents and economic centres within the city.

The flood gates within this defence scheme have certainly been very busy over the last two months. Next on the itinerary was a visit to the Natural History Museum which proved very topical for the students as a visit to the Earth Zone covered many aspects of the WJEC course studied in lessons at the moment.

On the second day, the pupils were introduced to some useful fieldwork skills as a visit to the Olympic Park illustrated how more undesirable areas within cities can be regenerated and in this case become more sustainable.

The London Olympics 2012 has been described as the 'greenest' games ever and the pupils were asked to investigate this. Pupils and staff had a great time and the pupils must be commended for their excellent behaviour and positive attitude throughout.