On Wednesday, Year 9 and 10 Geography students completed a Field Studies Council course on Urban Change in East London.

First stop was Stratford New Town where students compared how the land use had changed over time and carried out their first data collection technique; a land use map of the centre.  They then all plucked up the courage to ask busy passers-by to spare a few minutes for a questionnaire surveying opinions on the regeneration of the area.  The last task before lunch was to complete an Environmental Quality Survey of this area by scoring it on various criteria.. 

We stopped for lunch at the Westfield Centre so students could compare the difference to the Stratford Centre and it was also a very welcome opportunity to warm up!

The focus of the afternoon was completing a Service Tally and Environmental Quality Surveys in two more areas.  East Village is the site of the old Olympic Village.  We stopped to survey on ‘Victory Parade’ and learnt about the ways in which the area has been built sustainably.

After walking through the Olympic Park enjoying views over the River Lea and the Olympic Stadium we crossed a canal into our third location.  Hackney Wick is a former industrial area which won a campaign not to be regenerated.  We completed our final survey here.

The three areas provided a great contrast and supported the students understanding of how urban areas can change.  Both Year 9 and Year 10 will be using their fieldwork data to answer the enquiry question: Has regeneration improved the environmental quality of Stratford, East London?.  Now that fieldwork is examined at GCSE, this trip and the follow up work will be an invaluable experience.