B I O L O G Y   F I E L D  T R I P

At the end of June, sixteen Year 12 students left the comfort of school and home life for a five-day field trip to Devon. The shock of staying in a small isolated village in a remote part of Devon was partly relieved by the fact that mobile phone reception now exists in the area.

It rained. The hair straighteners didn’t work properly. Channel 5 wasn’t available for ‘Home and Away’! What did Devon have to offer our sixteen AS Biology students?

After a long, long, LONG minibus journey (thanks to Mr Marshall’s extra cautious driving), the sleepy-eyed students arrived. Not knowing what to expect, the girls got put up in a nice little B&B with en suite bathrooms, a TV and coffee-making facilities. The boys got broken bunk beds and not much else. 

After we had all settled in, we traipsed through the wilderness of Slapton Woods, collecting freshwater invertebrates in our nets. This all proved too much for Pa Farah as he was faced with a giant super bug (about 2cm long and 1cm across) that made him scream like a girl when confronted by it. Chrish and Vina made it their duty to catch them and keep them as pets.

The rain put a dampener on the first day, but those who were at one with nature felt in their element. The rest of us walked around with sour faces in the extremely colourful waterproofs that were provided by the centre. Unimpressed with Slapton Ley Field Centre’s contribution to fashion, Senn held on to the fact that her wellies still matched her bag.

Later on in the week, however, the sun came out and spirits were raised. At least it gave Diana, Nick and Penny a chance to wear their flip-flops. Chrish was even brave enough to use the eco-friendly compost toilet at the Centre.

For the boys, sleep was not a priority.  Norman and David could have done with some of Sarah’s make-up to cover up those bags.

On the last day, Mr Marshall trusted us to head into the woods alone to complete our fieldwork. Some took this as an opportunity to indulge in a little spot of sunbathing, others to play Lost in the Jungle. 

All in all, it was a very productive trip.  Our thanks go to Mr Marshall and Marion for putting up with our singing on the journeys there and back.