Using the FSC for fieldwork – the pros, cons and anything else

Taking students on fieldtrips is a vital part of every GCSE and A Level fieldwork course, not only because it is examined but because it helps students to put into practice the geography they are learning about in the classroom.

Whilst some schools allow ample opportunities for fieldwork to be embedded within each year group, many teachers will understand the pressures and problems of taking students in a year group out for a day, especially when each year group exceeds 250 students.

To support students with their NEAs at A level, or even their fieldwork days at GCSE, I would highly recommend using the FSC (Field Studies Council) as a place to take students to. Whether you have 5 or 50 students taking the subject, a variety of FSC’s will cater for your group size and can offer an intensive, yet excellent, experience of conducting fieldwork.

Pros:

-          Knowledgeable and passionate staff – at all 4 FSC’s I’ve taken students to, the staff have excellent place-specific knowledge, giving students an incredible in-depth experience of the sites, they are visiting. At Slapton FSC, the tutors know about the local ecology, geography, history and demography of the places you visit, allowing your classes to stretch their own knowledge and fully understand why sense of place may have changed, or understand the geological history of a coastline. Furthermore, I’ve found they tailor their teaching to your chosen exam board brilliantly, ensuring students have every chance of being successful in their NEA or exams.

-          All-inclusive accommodation – whilst the bathroom set up of FSC varies, most have shared doors with attached bathrooms. The food is good (cooked breakfast, dinner and dessert) plus equipment available to hire if your students don’t already have it (wellies, waterproofs etc).

-          Opportunities for both singular days and longer residentials – I have used Epping Forest for several years for their great day focused on rivers investigations – this works brilliantly with GCSE students and can match well with a school-led trip to a local area for a human investigation. Other sites (e.g., Slapton and Flatford) offer longer experiences, where their A Level courses offer 4-5 days covering human and physical landscapes before allowing students to make choices about their own NEA title and collect data.

-          Value for money – whilst you’ll need to add your own transport to and from the venue (and maybe pay for hire of their mini-buses) students really do get value for money. They have full days of tutoring (often between 9am-8/9pm with breaks interspersed in between) plus their full board. 1 day of fieldwork at Epping Forest costs around £28 (but depends on numbers of students).

-          CPD for teachers – as a teacher I always learn huge amounts about sampling techniques, new software for fieldwork and place-specific knowledge. It really does benefit my teaching in the classroom where I try to embed these techniques and knowledge to support students in KS3/4, prepping them for the future.

 

Cons:

-          Expensive – you may find that 4-5 days may incur too much cost for the students/families paying the costs. It might be worth trialling the 1-day fieldwork opportunities to see if they work for your students/school before opting for a longer stay.

-          Remote locations – some parts of the country have much better access to FSC’s than others. If you are in a Midlands location you might find that you need to travel quite a way for a residential FSC location, so consider the cost of transport and time taken before you book.

-          Not necessarily relatable to your students – whilst it’s a great wider experience to take your students to a location far from what they’re used to, it can sometimes prove challenging for them to understand why it’s important to them and how it links to their daily lives. I’ve noticed it can take a few days for students to immerse themselves in the experience and really understand why they’re investigating a random town/city miles away from where they live, or a coastline they’ve never visited. It often makes me want to go back to local fieldwork, so that the content can feel more relatable to students.