A Level students from across the UK took part in the Society’s annual Alexander Awards Summer School at the Field Studies Council Juniper Hall field centre in late August.
Led by staff from the Field Studies Centre (FSC) and the Society, the summer school’s programme was designed to develop the students’ confidence with geographical skills, expand their subject knowledge and develop their interpersonal skills. Students on the week-long residential trip had the opportunity to experience a wide variety of geographical topics including woodland management, the carbon and hydrological cycle, coastal processes and geomorphology, as well as more skills based workshops focused on statistical analysis, GIS and presentation delivery.
Geography Ambassadors Emily Chandler and Michael Candeland supported the students throughout the week, delivering presentations on studying geography at university and sharing, along with FSC staff, their own geographical journeys to illustrate the diversity of paths that geography can lead to.
Feedback from the summer school was overwhelmingly positive, with students commenting that they had widened their geographical knowledge and were now more aware of the possibilities that studying geography offers. Surrayia Bilal, one of the summer school’s students said: “It’s opened the door to endless opportunities.”
The Society will be repeating the Alexander Awards Summer School for disadvantaged A Level students in summer 2019. Find out more.