SIXTH FORM

Earlier this term, the Upper Sixth Biologists, Miss Evans and Dr. Price all enjoyed a weekend fieldtrip to beautiful Nettlecombe court, near Taunton in Devon. This historical family home, set in its own extensive grounds, is run by the Field Studies Council. We were taught by their highly experienced and knowledgeable tutor, Emma, who took us through a variety of habitats and ecological techniques. We enjoyed excellent weather in the gently rolling countryside just a few miles from the sea.

The girls collected seashells for measurement, caught and marked woodlouse (safely) to investigate their population number, beat trees to collect creepy crawlies and studied the variety and distribution of various grassland species. All the data collected and the statistical techniques they applied are vital to their A2 course and examination papers.

Studies were carried out in the fields and woods belonging to the Hall, but also on nearby Porlock beach, made famous by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He lived nearby and complained that, while writing down his dream-poem Khubla Khan, he was ‘interrupted by a person from Porlock' calling at the door. Coleridge was then unable to finish the poem, as he had forgotten the rest of the dream!