Currently focussing on Human Geography, the students were tasked with investigating the opportunities created by the £125-million-pound Flemingate retail and leisure development. They created a land use map to chart the usage of space within the development, categorising each unit of land to assess the range of opportunities that are available to its visitors.  

Opened in November 2015, the Flemingate shopping centre occupies the site of a former chemical works. The area’s total transformation from industrial to leisure use provided students with the perfect platform to develop their knowledge of urban redevelopment and planning as they explored the question: ‘To what extent has the Flemingate development increased opportunities for recreation and entertainment in Beverley?’.

The students spent the first part of the day in Beverley town centre where they carried out pedestrian flow counts and canvassed shoppers. The group then made their way to Flemingate where they compared footfall and sought opinions on the success of the development as an urban redevelopment project.

Early findings revealed that despite some big retail and restaurant changes, which are attracting a great number of visitors, the centre of Beverley itself still remains a popular destination for shoppers. 

The data collected during this fieldwork opportunity will be used as part of the students’ continuing preparations for their ‘Paper 3’ exam – half of which will assess what they understand about fieldwork; the processes they used to collect data and how they will use the data effectively. 

Commenting on this element of the course Sarah Harris, Progress Leader for Humanities, commented: ‘Fieldwork is an essential part of studying Geography as it helps to bring the subject to life outside the classroom. It inspires independent learning and increases understanding of the topics being studied.

We could not be any prouder of our students, all of whom behaved exceptionally well. They were confident, methodical in their work and were fantastic ambassadors for our school.

For many students, this was the first time they had stopped a stranger in the street to ask questions. Although understandably nervous, on what was a very busy day in Beverley, they were pleasantly surprised by people’s willingness to help – with many being keen to take part and support our students with their work.

Students learned a great deal from speaking to the public about Flemingate and these valuable conversations will help them to reach valid conclusions in their on-going studies.

We were delighted that more than one member of the public praised our students for their engagement and enthusiasm for their work, while also remarking on how smart they looked. We have said this before, but Miss Griffiths, Mrs Hunter and I are very proud of the Year 11 Geographers.”

Feedback from the students themselves was equally positive, with Zoe Byrom saying: “I enjoyed walking around Beverley and visiting the Gaia exhibition in Beverley Minster.” While Elliot Atkins added: “The trip was fun and I enjoyed chatting to people while asking them our questions.”

While in Beverley, the students were given an opportunity to visit the Minster to view the Gaia artwork – a touring exhibition by UK artist Luke Jerram that provides an incredible opportunity to view Earth as it might be seen from space, floating in three dimensions.

Measuring seven metres in diameter and created from detailed NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface, the artwork slowly revolves to the sound of a composition by BAFTA award winning composer Dan Jones.

The Gaia artwork is available to view daily at the Minster, free of charge, between 10.00am and 4.00pm until Sunday 1^st October. The Minster is also open for artwork viewings on selected evenings between 7.00pm and 9.00pm. Further information, including dates for evening viewings, are available on www.beverleyminster.org.uk

Meanwhile, over the coming weeks, the Withernsea High’s Geographers will process their fieldwork findings as part of their continuing preparation for the exams in summer. The data collected will be used to assess the extent of the leisure and recreational opportunities that have been created by the Flemingate development.

This work will sit alongside their exploration of the East Riding’s contrasting coastline, conducted during their first fieldwork experience back in June, which saw the students visit Mappleton and Hornsea as part of the ‘physical’ element of their GCSE Geography course.    

Data collected from this experience has been used as the basis for an investigation into the success of existing coastal management strategies, giving students the opportunity to draw their own conclusions as to their overall effectiveness, and to explore whether or not, in their opinion, improvements could be made.   

ABOVE: Year 11 students enjoyed canvassing the opinions of shoppers in Beverley.

ABOVE: The students enjoyed visiting the Gaia artwork at Beverley Minster. In Greek Mythology Gaia is the personification of the Earth.