On the 11 November 2022 we had a visit from an outside speaker Mrs Rachel Enstone in our Year 10 Geography lesson. She discussed what it was like living in Tokyo, a megacity located 480km away from the Tohoku region in Japan - but what is the Tohoku region, and why is it relevant?

Staff are invited to nominate students who have demonstrated a Growth Mindset in the past few weeks. This might have been in lessons, in clubs, in tutor time or simply around school. Please note we already award bi-annual subject badges and merits for good academic work, effort and improvement. These Growth Mindset nominations recognise those who show resilience (academic or otherwise); who aren’t afraid to get things wrong and learn from it; those who have a go, take themselves out of their comfort zone or show that even if a task is tough they will persevere.

Well done to Rachel in Year 10 who competed at the British Trampolining and Tumbling Championships in Birmingham Utilita Arena. Rachel put in three great routines, finishing in second place with a Silver medal.

On the 13 and 14 of October Year 12 and Year 13 A level Geography students participated in a residential field trip to the Holderness coastline and Hull. Year 12 students were getting their first taste of fieldwork and tried out lots of different surveys, observations and equipment to better understand our topics of coastal landscapes and diverse places. Year 13 students were collecting data for their individual coursework projects and so were working more independently in small groups.

Holderness is Europe’s fastest eroding coastline so we went to 3 different locations - Hornsea, Mappleton and Aldbrough - to collect data about why this is happening and how it’s being managed. This included doing groyne measurements, wave counts, beach profiles, looking at sediment size, and the “orange test” (where we tested longshore drift). In Aldbrough we visited a site where erosion has taken the main village road, which demonstrated the effect of erosion is having on coastal communities.

The next day we visited Hull to investigate a range of topics including deprivation, ethnic identity, regeneration projects and the legacy of the City of Culture.

Students enjoyed the trip as it really helped bring to life the places we had studied in the classroom.

Lucy in Year 13 said “I really appreciated having the opportunity to carry out some practical, hands-on fieldwork especially following the disruption caused by the pandemic. I also enjoyed spending time with other geographers who share the same interests as me.” Amy added “I have chosen to write my NEA on how achieving UK City of Culture status in 2017 has impacted Hull and people’s perception of place. On the second day of the trip I spent time gathering my own data which involved carrying out environment quality surveys and land use surveys, as well as asking members of the public to fill out a questionnaire on their perception of the area.” Kate said that “Going to Hull and Hornsea on the Geography fieldtrip allowed me to see the theories we had learnt at school in reality. I could experience a new place and enjoyed collecting with beach profiles and groyne measurements on the Holderness coast. Another highlight for everyone was the carvery on Thursday night!” Heather concurred "I loved being able to see geography in person, it was eye opening when we visited Mappleton to see how much of an impact the coastal management had made to their local landscape. Everyone enjoyed being able to go on a residential trip again, especially being able to go out for a meal in the evening!

Miss S Chant

Geography Department

Students in Year 10 have their artwork on display at the Royal Maritime Museum, Greenwich, as part of the national River of Hope project which they took part in back in March. The students also received certificates for their involvement. 20 students worked with our art technician Emily Cartwright, who was the lead artist for Lincolnshire schools in the project run by Thames Festival Trust. Their artwork was printed onto a silk flag which was paraded in the Queen’s Jubilee Pageant and has now arrived back in school.

The flag itself will be exhibited in Boston in the new year to mark the end of the two-year project, alongside flags and artwork from the six other Lincolnshire schools involved. More details on how students and their friends and families can see the Boston exhibition will be shared later this year. In the meantime if you would like to visit The National Maritime Museum, the River of Hope exhibition including the KSHS artwork will be on display until 12 January 2023.

You can read more about the wider River of Hope project at https://thamesfestivaltrust.org/river-of-hope/