Geography students weather the weather in London

On Tuesday 14 June Year 9 Geography students headed to the Olympic Park in Stratford. A largely outdoor trip, the group was pleased to narrowly miss a downpour, arriving just as the rain stopped, enabling the girls to sit opposite the Aquatic Centre with its iconic blue walls and curving, wave shaped, roof. The group looked at aerial photos of the Lea Valley before it was redeveloped, to host the Olympic Games in 2012. The photos revealed a tangle of warehouses, small factory units, railway sidings and a 'fridge mountain' - old fridges and freezers awaiting recycling. It was very different from the clean, bright walkways and modern buildings occupying the area today.

The group then walked through the park and saw the Copper Box and the Athletes' Village. The latter is now a very desirable housing area, 'East Village', which has low carbon apartments that use photovoltaic cells to generate power, and grey water recycling to flush the toilets and minimise waste. Much of the day was spent dodging ominous storm clouds as the girls carried out fieldwork in the concourse outside the Westfield shopping centre, investigating the use of public transport (rail, tube and bus) via 'exit counts' and finding out via questionnaires how many of the Olympic Park facilities local people use, in order to gain an insight into the use of this area now that redevelopment is complete. Only once safely on the coach to return home did the heavens open again, and Year 9 students now have plenty of data to present and analyse in light of their hypotheses on the changing use of the area in their upcoming Geography lessons.