Field trip was truly amazing experience
NINE intrepid Wick High explorers recently set off on an educational trip to the Cairngorms National Park.
The keen Higher geography students were chaperoned by three teachers, who added to the chaos of the trip.
The students greatly enjoyed the first activity of the day, which was an inspiring PowerPoint regarding the careful management of Cairngorm Mountain.
This activity was followed by the epic trip on the funicular railway to its summit where the pupils made a good friend in John the train driver.
They explored the display thoroughly and answered the tricky quiz and topped up their energy levels with a delicious hot chocolate.
Everybody enjoyed the spectacular view on the descent to the tourist centre.
The students then followed a river from its source in the Cairngorm Mountain to its end. They entered the river at three points, measuring the speed of its fast-flowing rapids and the width of the flow.
The pupils later travelled on the yellow mini bus to Badaguish lodges, where the students delighted in creating their very own pizzas and playing on the adventure park. In the evening, everybody completed various graphs and exercises in the fieldwork notebooks.
All the pupils awoke to an exciting expedition on the Rothiemurchus Estate, led by friendly ranger Lucy.
They had a lovely time feeding deer and Highland cows, adding practical skills to their already extensive knowledge of the area.
In the afternoon the pupils climbed to the top of a 810m high mountain, enjoying the sensational 360° views from the top.
The purpose of this exercise was to determine the gradients, vegetation and soil types as the altitude increased. It was an exciting activity enjoyed by all.
On their final day the pupils conducted a tourism study, discovering the sphere of influence in a place like Aviemore.
The Cairngorns geography trip was a truly amazing experienced enjoyed by all!
Sophia Ramsøy, Zoe Rothera and Kaitlin Bogle