Nine Year 13 Biologists travelled to the Medina Valley
Centre on the Isle of Wight to investigate a number of topics relating to their
A Level course specification. This included conducting survey work at a number
of sites of special scientific interest (SSIs).
Accompanied by Dr Snellgrove and Mr Lawson, the group of
seven male and two female students travelled south on Friday and took the short
ferry crossing to Newport. SSIs are some of the country’s best wildlife or
geological sites. These include some of the most spectacular and beautiful
habitats. Before conducting research at SSIs, special permission must be
obtained from land owners.
The students spent the first few days analysing woodland
management techniques and salt-marsh succession. This included measuring water
quality in freshwater streams and surveying benthic invertebrates in the Medina
estuary.
A particular perk of being on the Isle of Wight is that you
are never far from the coast. Later in the weekend the group made the short
journey down to the beach and studied factors affecting limpet morphology on
rocky shores. The units are all related to compulsory fieldwork which
contributes towards the overall A Level grade.
Fortunately, the September weather was very kind, creating
ideal conditions to collect excellent data. All written work was completed on
the trip, with the conscientious Sixth Formers working well into most evenings.
We hope this hard graft pays off, when the coursework grades are revealed later
in the year.