During October, eight Year 11s were lucky enough to have the opportunity to go on a Geography field trip to Sri Lanka, accompanied by Dr Goldsmith and Miss Reilly.

We all travelled overnight and, rather sleepily, arrived at Colombo airport at 4.25am! After exchanging money and each being presented with a beautiful Sri Lankan flower, we were ready to go.

After a quick unpacking and napping session at base camp we all went off to the Kanneliya rainforest where there were some fantastic learning opportunities and links with Theme 2 of the Geography IGCSE. There were plenty of leeches to avoid and a refreshing downpour, before we all waded in and swam in a local river. The evening was a great intro to Sri Lankan cooking, with delicious rice and curry.

Friday began with a quick breakfast and trip to the beach. The 8 students worked really well as a team, splitting into two groups to produce beach profiles. The beach profiling was a brilliant link to our Theme 2 study of coasts and a great way to actually understand some key geographical fieldwork techniques that are difficult to undertake in Bahrain. We then went to Galle Fort for a quick lunch before visiting a second beach at Unawatuna. After showering and changing we went out for pizza and enjoyed a majestic view of the thunder and lightning while eating.

Saturday was urban field work and shopping at Galle and there were several purchases made: gemstones, ice creams and elephant pants were the order of the day! As well as being a relaxing and enjoyable day around Galle, it also had excellent links back to Theme 1 and topics relating to tourism. After a tasty Rocket Burger and trip back to camp to change, we all had an amazingly memorable experience when we were lucky enough to release sea turtles at a local sanctuary. Some students described this as one of the most amazing experiences of their lives!

Sunday was a rivers day and, again, brilliant attitudes and fieldwork prevailed. Giant Monitor lizards were no match for St Christopher’s students as they waded into the river!

The final afternoon involved chill out time with smoothies in Welligama while some of the others went surfing. The evening was a final fun challenge night before packing and preparing for departure.

It’s was a busy but fantastic trip. Thanks to the students for being so adventurous and fun and to Dr Goldsmith and Miss Reilly for organising!

Author :Paul Goldsmith, Teacher of Geography and EPQ Coordinator