Sixth Form Geography students head to the Alps for an immersive learning experience

Over half term our Geography Sixth Form pupils headed on a trip to the Alps to 'bring the textbook to life'. Daisy S (G, LVI) reflects on the trip. 

On the 15th of October, the Shrewsbury School Sixth Form Geography department, woke up at the grand time of 2:30am, pulled on our hiking boots and we were off.

A short flight across the globe, with many naps en-route to Geneva saw us trade in the familiar sunny-Shropshire hills for the awe-inspiring mountains of the Alps. We dropped off our bags at the ‘Alpine Classic Hotel Leysin’  and went straight to the Berneuse Cable cars which took us right to the top of the Leysin landscape, allowing us to admire from the heights. Seeing the textbook page come to life was a truly immersive learning experience.

Once we are the top, geography classes took a whole new meaning as we sat, sandwiches in hand and admired the views whilst Dr Mathews-Bird, Mr Kenzie, Mr Evans and Mr Wain explained what we were seeing and how this would have changed over the past epochs and eras. This was one of the highlights for myself as being able to travel back in time allows you to see how change is possible and predict how a landscape will look in years to come.

After a much-deserved rest, we hopped on a bus and headed over to the Grand Renaissance dam. As this is the largest gravity damn ever created, it was truly a sight to see and intriguing to learn how human and physical geography can work together to shape the landscapes around us. We then had the incredible opportunity to venture inside the dam and learn about its history, building process and how it supplies the surrounding towns and cities.

The afternoon had a much more challenging feat instore for us as ‘Shrewsbury on Ice’ was go. After many falls, bumps, bruises and a surprisingly well executed speed skate between Dr Matthews-Bird and Mr Kenzie, we returned back to the hotel for some well-deserved rest. The next two days consisted of some difficult climbing up the Glacier des Bosson and the Lang Glacier but with views at the top which made it all worth it and a sneaky trip to a French Mc Donald’s in Chamonix .

Being that close to a glacier allows you see that the content that is on the syllabus are actually dynamic and functioning systems which are central to the societies that live around them. This combines with the foundations of knowledge which you have already established within the classroom to allow you to return home feeling like you know so much more about your subject than when you left (as well as having stories to entertain the grandparents).

Overall, The Shrewsbury School Alps Trip 2022 was a definite successes and we look forward to an ice-skating re match between Dr MB and Mr Kenzie very soon.