Fieldwork is an integral part of the teaching at JAGS. By visiting, observing and recording different phenomena and processes, both local and further afield, the girls consolidate and extend their understanding of the subject, whilst enhancing their personal development through working as a team and making new friends.

We offer each year group at least one fieldwork experience:

Year 7 begin fieldwork at a local scale in and around the school grounds. Working in small groups the girls identify the location of a variety of unusual photographs and map them on a base map of the school. They also learn field sketching techniques. In the Summer term 2008 we will be taking our first 4 day joint residential trip with the French Department to the Opal Coast.

Year 8 visit Kew Gardens as part of their investigation of plant adaptations within different ecosystems.

Year 9, jointly with the Biology department, visit the Natural History Museum to consolidate their study of volcanoes and earthquakes.

GCSE pupils prepare for their individual coursework and strengthen their understanding of geographical theories through various day trips, including the River Darent in Kent, Rye and Winchelsea in East Sussex and Dulwich Village.

A Level Geographers continue their fieldwork investigations to prepare them for the A/AS Skills Papers and case studies within the AS and A2 papers. In September 2008 we introduced a new one day trip to the Thames Barrier and Brick Lane to investigate river management and the changing socio-economic characteristics in London's inner city. There is also the annual 5 day residential fieldtrip to the Gower Peninsula, Wales during the Easter holidays, where the girls study the River Ilston from source to mouth, patterns of rural settlements in the Gower and coastal ecosystems.

The Department is also passionate about providing optional foreign trips to enhance the girls geographical knowledge. During Easter 2007 we took 43 GCSE and A Level Geographers on a very successful trip to Iceland and in October 2008 a keen group of A Level Geographers visited Morocco for 8 days.

Please click on the links below to see photographs and more details about each trip.