Four A Level Geography students, Kemiru, Freddie, Emily and Rory, travelled to London on Monday June 15 for an overnight residential to undertake mandatory fieldwork as part of their Geography studies, accompanied by Mr Donaldson and Mrs O’Keefe. The focus was Brick Lane and Canary Wharf so that the students could see Geography processes in action: the dynamic character of a “Far Place” – Brick Lane – and the outcomes from urban rebranding and regeneration: Canary Wharf in London’s Docklands. Having never visited these areas before, our students were first entranced by the various sights and smells (and tastes!) of Brick Lane, famed for its South Asian and other exotic cuisines, of which we had to sample, of course. A mandatory part, if you will, of the fieldtrip.
We decompressed through the late afternoon by visiting the Garden at 120 Rooftop, which is what it says on the tin: a lovely garden on a rooftop, that also affords fantastic views of the Thames and surrounding city (your tour guides/A Level Geographers highly recommend a visit). Monday was then capped off by an evening round of ten-pin bowling. Freddie demonstrated a devastating aptitude for the sport and Mr Donaldson devastated his sports-mad Australian-countrymen everywhere by his woeful performance.
Tuesday brought Canary Wharf, which felt a world away from Brick Lane with its imposing skyscrapers and the flash and bling of the Yuppies and up-scale shops. Our destination, however, was not the banking boardrooms but the charming Docklands museum. This led our Geographers through the journey of the Docklands from historical shipping and manufacturing hub to its current position as a financial nerve-centre for the world.
The trip came to an enriching conclusion via a lunch stop in Chinatown, again highlighting to our students the wonderful diversity of a Global City and the wide-ranging spaces we can find in urban areas.