On Tuesday, we made our way down to East Sussex to visit the quaint town of Lewes. Its proximity to Brighton meant that the town was particularly popular on this sunny day, especially among university students. Lewes is especially interesting as it is a transition town, aiming to tackle climate change and promote sustainability through community-led projects. These include the Lewes Pound, a local currency that encourages spending in independent shops along the high street. Through data collection looking at the people and shops on the high street, we explored how our preconceptions of towns such as Lewes may vary due to our own lived experiences. We also enjoyed seeing the castle, which was built in the 11th century after the Norman Conquest of England. 

The next day was the trip to the beach. Newhaven was a pebble beach, with a harbour in which you can sometimes spot dolphins (unfortunately, none of us did, but maybe next time!). The first part of the day involved measuring pebble size and shape at intervals along the shoreline, which allowed us to see how the effects of coastal erosion varied with distance along the beach. We also measured how the beach sloped, so that we could draw beach profile diagrams. After eating lunch on the berms, we made our way to Seaford Town and beach, which you can see from Newhaven. We drew annotated field sketches of the beach and carried out flood risk surveys, considering how coastal defences and human impacts can affect flood risk at different points along the coast.  

We all had an amazing two days, which, although tiring, were a welcome break from school work. It was really exciting to be able to put into practice all the theory we have been learning throughout the year, and translate it into real life Geography. We are looking forward to returning in Year 13 to collect our final data! 

Meghana, Holly and Ana - Year 12