During the weekend of November 16th to 18th, a group of AS Biology students travelled out of London to complete coursework tasks at the historic Flatford Mill, close to the Suffolk-Essex boarder. Flatford Mill is an environmental centre which has provided Brampton College students with a scenic area to explore biodiversity, classification and plant topics.
The group of 15 students made the two-hour journey to Flatford Mill on Friday afternoon with teachers Nadia Ham Pong and Tim Mills. Once arriving at the centre, they were greeted by staff and shown their accommodations for the weekend – a historic cottage which was once painted by John Constable.
On Saturday, students began their biodiversity training by sampling areas of wildlife in nearby fields and investigating methods of classification. Students also had the opportunity to collect soil samples for testing and use a variety of equipment to measure factors affecting growth of plants.
During this time, students also completed three coursework tasks required for the AS Biology curriculum. The students worked hard to prepare for the tasks and made good use of their time while at the centre. Of course, not all the weekend was hard work and revision as students had breaks during the day and free time in the evenings. It’s safe to say that the football table and games in the common room were put to good use!
In the end, it was a rewarding experience for both students and teachers. The staff at Flatford Mill were very accommodating and will have the pleasure of working with another group of students on November 23rd to 25th, when the second half of AS Biology students complete their coursework.
