Summer - Queen Katherine School

FROM KIEV TO KENDAL
I really love my city. Kiev is a beautiful place, especially in
Spring. The symbol of our city is a chestnut flower, so we have
these trees everywhere. It’s great when they bloom in Spring.
People mostly live in apartments, because Kiev is quite a big
city. Houses there are very big – sometimes they have 16 or 18
floors! I live in a 14 storey house on the fifth floor. Apartments
are different shapes and sizes: usually people have a kitchen
plus 2 or 3 rooms, but we are lucky enough to have 4 rooms.
I like to go out with my friends. There’s a lot of nice places to
go. There is our special street ‘Hreschatik’ in the centre of Kiev:
on weekends the roads are closed on this street and people have
fun together. Pop stars perform, or there’s a disco or something.
My friends stay there till late, but it’s not difficult to get home
when we want to. Our transport in Kiev is developed really well:
we’ve got metros, trains, buses, minibuses, taxis etc. I like
everything in my city, except the lack of fresh air. So it’s good to
go out camping with friends in the forests.
Kendal is quite different from Kiev. It is very small compared
to Kiev, but I like it. Everyone knows each other (almost). And
everything is so close: I mean that you can go everywhere you
want without using buses, trolleybuses, streetcars, etc. I like
nature very much: the fresh, healthy air here is something
magnificent. And the beautiful views from everywhere: the
mountains are so wonderful. I really love it.
Well, that’s actually the difference, you see.
Daria Donskaya (visitor to Year 9)
Snowdonia National Park. Working from 9am to 9pm(!) every
day in the field and at their residential base does not seem to
dampen enthusiasm; and students learn valuable practical skills of
investigation: collating, recording and evaluating results which
they can later use as part of their A level course.
Year 10 geographers visit Ingleton and its hinterland to study
the impact of tourism, and to see at first hand limestone
escarpments. The combination this year of their fieldwork and
good weather left pupils with red faces and illuminated minds!
Two Year 8 groups were used this year as guinea pigs for a full
scale ‘assault’ on Bowness next year, looking at how Bowness
caters for tourists, and the impact tourists have on the area. Pupils
conducted questionnaires and completed surveys, both of which
were then analysed at base.
Year 7’s focus has been Kendal, pupils investigating whether
the town’s growth and development conforms to simple
geographical models. Pupils concentrated on housing and
shopping services (and answered many questions from curious
members of the public!), before returning to school to assess and
write up their individual/group results.
A Level Biology students travelled in June to Pendennis
Castle Youth Hostel, a magnificent building on the headland
above Falmouth whose grounds provided panoramic sea-views
and an excellent setting for a keenly contested rounders match
with a school from Bradford. The trip provides students with
the opportunity for intensive study of habitats different to
those found in Cumbria – and allows them to complete a piece
of A Level coursework.
Students also develop their presentational skills: each
student at the end of the stay has to present to the rest of the
group a five minute account of individual investigations they
have undertaken. In addition, the residential experience can
give individuals the chance to develop their culinary
expertise. A student competitor last year from Junior
Masterchef set the standard for the week, and the subsequent
competition between groups was fierce! Pie, mash and veg by
the last night was transformed into pie with gratin of potato,
and leek with glazed pommes de terre.
It is clear from students and staff that the hours of
preparation for these trips are worthwhile. Students learn new
skills, see places they might never have otherwise visited, and
remember highlights. In later years, students will say, ‘Do you
remember when we visited ...?’ In small and large ways, they
have expanded their experiences; and that must be beneficial.