May 2019
Last week Downside School Lower Sixth Biologists, as part of their A level, went to Buckfastleigh in Devon to take part in a four-day fieldtrip.
Arriving in Buckfastleigh and acquainting ourselves with the accommodation was the first order of business. Boys in one room, girls in another, and all school rules hashed out. DIY packed lunches made in perhaps the most chaos imaginable. 20 teenagers trying to make a cheese sandwich at the same time is never going to end well… and issued with various booklets that we were to treat like another limb we ventured out for species sampling.
the first part of the ecological fieldwork started.
The following two days were spent on different beaches counting limpets and analysing how the environment changed the further we got out to sea. Long walks in the sunshine, a few mishaps with the tide times and warming ourselves with various interesting sea food snacks throughout filled the days.
The evenings spent in lessons, writing up data and completing our booklets to take back to school, there was little time for relaxing. However, in our free time, as Mr Barrett had forgotten the WIFI password, and no such thing as a TV in sight, we played endless games of cards or debating with the deputy head Mr Randall about various issues within the school.
On one night we bravely ventured out, hard hats on, to explore the nearby caves and go on a night bat walk. Perhaps my highlight of the trip being Mrs Murphy, on multiple occasions jumping out on the group in what she thought was a terrifying manner. Little did she know we had all been forewarned about this little tradition by years previously, and so were all more than prepared.
Overall, although very hard work, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and see it as one of my fondest memories of my time at downside so far.