Year 12 Study Ecology in Devon
On 18th July Miss Crewe, Mrs Caswell and Miss Rickard took ten Year 12 students to Slapton Leys Field Course Centre in Devon. The aim of the visit was to support the work that the students had done on ecology at school and to give them a hands on experience of conducting biological experiments in a different environment.
We left KNGS early on Monday morning and by 2pm we were on Slapton beach studying succession on the coast. All of the activities counted towards the students getting a practical endorsement for their A-Level Biology. On Tuesday we visited East Prawle where we studied the distribution of organisms on the rocky shore line, we saw all manner of organisms living there and could see at first-hand how they were adapted to survive in different conditions. The data we collected and our observations contributed to larger experiments that the field course centre are conducting. Wednesday was our last day enjoying the glorious sunshine by the sea before returning to KNGS. We spent the morning studying the invertebrate life in the freshwater Ley. All of the data we collected throughout the three days was subjected to statistical tests to allow students to increase their data-handling skills and draw conclusions based on their own observations and their own data.
The trip was excellent fun, beneficial and enjoyable. The students who attended would have liked to have stayed longer and completed more field work, whilst there their confidence in speaking about Biology and their work improved, students who had been quiet were gaining confidence and it allowed them to think of what life will be like when they attend university.
The Biology field trip will be open to students studying A-Level Biology in the first instance but is suitable for students studying any subject to which they need to apply statistical testing. We shall be returning to Slapton Ley in 2017 and are looking forward to taking the next cohort already.