Pleckgate High School pupils experienced geography out of the classroom to help them learn to about rivers and flooding.
The school has been working with the Environment Agency’s Siddiq Patel and visited the Garstang Flood Gates, which help to hold the water back during heavy rainfall and then, once the rain stops, slow release it back into the River Wyre.
The 60 Year 10 pupils also had to tackle wet conditions and cold temperatures but it didn’t dampen their spirits.
“As part of the geography course work we will go on two field trips and this was one of them,” said Pleckgate’s Head of Geography, Ms Swales.
“Rather than learn about it from a text book they got to see the environment in real life and experience it which helped them.
“The weather wasn’t kind but the pupils enjoyed the busy day seeing the source of the river and then seeing the changes in width, depth, speed and stone shapes as we travelled downstream.
“It really helps deliver the topic when they can see it in ‘real life’. The information about the flood gate from the Environment Ageny helped the pupils and, with the bad weather, they turned on the news and saw them working.”
Pupil Alia Haider said, “I had fun measuring the river near the source and listening to the Environment Agency at Garstang. I didn’t know there were things like the flood gate that existed to protect people from flooding.”
Karim Reda said, “There was snow at the top of the source. And when we got to Garstang there was none and we could clearly see the river had got wider and deeper, just like the model we have learnt about.”
Hamza Ghani added: “.The River Wyre changes so much over such a short distance from Abbeystead to Garstang – no wonder the lag time is just two hours!”
