Ten reasons Skern Lodge is the best field studies location in the UK

Why choose Skern Lodge for field studies? Skern Lodge’s setting on the North Devon Coast is in itself a generous and inspiring location for young geographers and biologists. Add to that the expert tuition provided by our highly experienced and qualified tutors, with opportunities for teachers to take part as observers rather than facilitators, and it is clear why Skern Lodge is the ideal location for fieldwork.  

We also don’t take the fact that the A-Level non-examined assessment (NEA) is 20% of an A-Level student’s grades lightly. Plus the fact that, if fieldwork isn’t enjoyable for GCSE students there will be less A-Level geographers; which can really impact geography teachers.

The top ten reasons Skern Lodge is the best field studies location in the UK:

1.      Field studies trips at Skern Lodge are uncomplicated, authentic, and trusted by a wide community of geography teachers UK-wide. More than a feel-good residential, maximising a student’s potential with fieldwork is also a top priority.  

2.      Most traditional fieldwork centres don’t have access to surf boards and kayaks. Skern Lodge is an activity centre with all the equipment and team of instructors, so we can so some really interesting data collection with high engagement, for example, river studies on a kayak!

3.      For all teachers who ordinarily deliver the fieldwork component themselves, and those who don’t, we can take over all tuition and are an expert provider to outsource to without the headache of interpreting fieldwork requirements.

4.      All our fieldwork sites are within the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, centred on the Taw Torridge Estuary with special focus towards the sand dunes of Braunton Burrows, one of the UK’s largest and most spectacular psammosere systems.

5.      Other Biosphere habitats include a rocky foreshore with exposed geological crumples from Varsican orogeny, depositional mud and sand flats, salt marshes of various types, lowland farmland, ancient and semi natural woodland, grazing marsh and coastal heath.

6.      There is also access to the urban retail highstreets of Bideford and Barnstaple, separated by the controversial Taw Bridge, with examples of rural rebranding projects such as the former steam-railway-line-turned-cycle-route, the Tarka Trail.

7.      When they’re not out in the field with students, our team of Geography Tutors are very active within the wider industry of outdoor learning and environmental education. In addition to attending numerous practitioner conferences throughout the year as delegates and occasional guest speakers, our team have published articles on Geography Fieldwork in Horizons, the regular publication by the Institute for Outdoor Learning (IOL), as well as Geography Southwest of which we are keen collaborators.

8.      As an established centre for over 40 years, we offer all-inclusiv­­e and well-thought out programmes with accommodation and transport. Everything is organised by Skern Lodge for extra simplicity, less hassle and due to the all-inclusive nature of what we offer, our trips are often more budget-friendly than organising elements separately.

9.      School children kayaking from Appledore (where Skern Lodge is located) to Bideford on the river Torridge are well placed to appreciate downstream characteristic change, such as, flow velocity as outlined in Bradshaw’s Model. And there is no better way to experience the transporting effects of longshore drift than attempting to catch a wave at Westward Ho! beach on a surfboard.

10.  Geographers can access the wavecut platform of Hartland peninsular at low tide, which reveals all manner of spectacular coastal landforms resulting from differential erosion of hard sandstone and soft shale strata.

Planning a field studies trip? We would love to help. Our first question to you is, what is it you’re hoping to teach? We can create the ideal programme and takeover the rest, ensuring curriculum relevancy throughout.

Get in touch, here

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