Sixth Form Geographers Explore Barcelona
At the beginning of half term, the Geography department took 22 Sixth Form students to Barcelona to explore its physical and human geography.
Upon their arrival, students were treated to a tour of the city, stopping off at the Montjuic viewpoint to gain a better sense of the scale of the city and to identify some of the main flagship development projects.
The group then travelled down to the marina for lunch before a circuit of the famous unfinished Gaudi masterpiece the Sagrada Familia.
The afternoon culminated in a fascinating talk on the history of Barcelona from our knowledgeable field studies centre guide.
On the second day, our geographers explored the local coastal processes and landforms where they were able to practice their field work as well as brush up on theoretical knowledge.
The third and fourth days were spent in Barcelona exploring the regeneration of the city associated with the Olympics, new businesses, tourism, art and food.
We considered how these changes have altered the city’s identity and the wide range of social, economic and political effects they can have on a local, regional and national scale.
A particular highlight was an afternoon spent learning about the current political divide between Catalonia and the rest of Spain, with our guide offering compelling arguments for and against Catalonia's independence.
The trip ended with a closely fought pool tournament, and a final trip to the home stadium of FC Barcelona, commonly known as 'Camp Nou', to understand how a football club can represent more than just sport.
