Geology Field Trips

I spent nearly thirty years as a teacher in five secondary schools - one private boarding, one state grammar, and four state comprehensives. In all but the private boarding school I had the good fortune to be able to teach geology, my favourite subject but not one commonly offered in secondary schools.

An essential part of all the courses I taught was field experience. One way of organising these expeditions was to use a private company, such as the Field Studies Council, which offered residential trips which included all the requirements of 'A' level examinations. I only once used an FSC facility, and that was as a place to stay. In all my trips, I led them. My union didn't like teachers doing this, to the extent that they issued warnings against being responsible for a trip as a few teachers had found themselves in deep water when an accident happened, but I just couldn't imagine not being in charge. So I led geology field trips in Shropshire, North Wales, the North Yorkshire coast, and Essex - and considered myself extremely fortunate that all of them went off without any problems. In fact, the only time a head teacher called me in to his study following a parental complaint was when a mother discovered pictures of naked men amongst the photos her daughter had taken. Fortunately, the mother had a sense of humour: we had visited a beach which we'd often studied before but which had since been designated as the first in England to be nudist, and I hadn't heard the news.

I enjoyed all the trips I took but I have the happiest memories of those in the last two years of my teaching career. I had two 'A' level classes in that time and the young people who came on the trips were amongst the best students I ever taught. They worked hard - not only during the day but also into the evening. They didn't complain about the weather - and we had to go out whatever it threw at us - nor that we worked well into each evening.

The photos show (top) The Plume School's Lower Sixth class in 1996 on a day studying Studland Bay in Dorset, and (bottom) the Upper Sixth in Shropshire in 1995.