The trip was fantastic! This report describes the wonderful adventures of a year 13 geography trip which was the first one of the year, which took place on Wednesday 21st September  2022 , where students compared the regenerational developments in the city regions of Liverpool (from Liverpool One to the Baltic Triangle and more) and Birkenhead (Pyramids Shopping Centre) with the aims and hopes of collecting data for their coursework for their A levels.

The trip started at 08:40 where we all departed from school to the local train station and from there we took a small train journey to James Street. This is where the adventure truly began. This is where we went to our desired location in small groups. Within my group’s journey, we first headed to the Albert Dock to start our project. We began at the Maritime museum where we initially lacked the confidence to interact with the public! We therefore built up to asking more pedestrians through simpler tasks such as pedestrian counts. 

Unfortunately for me though, during the pedestrian counts, there was a large group of seagulls which swooped down and rather impressively, took one of our pens, flying off with it before we could stop it! However, after this dramatic event we then departed to Baltic Triangle (not before a quick stop at McDonalds). Here we collected evidence of the regeneration project by taking photos to show the development occurring within the industrial area. Next we set off for Liverpool One, this time with even more confidence as we began to interact with more people. A privilege for us was that most members of the public were very friendly and started to share their plans for the day and experiences living in the City with us, making the data we collected feel even more personal and representative of the general public. Some stated that they were in the city to find love, however, the majority was for work. We even spoke to an artist who was touring the world, sharing his passion for art and his work within the city. 

Following this, we returned to James Street to meet up with our classmates, ready for the next project, Birkenhead Pyramids. The journey was complicated however, due to the 2 minute due time of our train before we had even come close to the platform. We all raced through the station after getting off the lift, desperate to catch the train in order to continue our fieldwork. To our misfortune, our intense speed walking wasn’t enough to make it in time and as we reached the platform, we were greeted by our train to Birkenhead departing the station without us- a lesson we will never forget for our next field trip (Always maintain our time management strategies). To our relief, the next train wasn’t far behind and would be with us within the next couple of minutes!

Arriving at Birkenhead and completing the short walk to the Pyramids shopping centre, we split into our smaller groups and replicated the activities we completed within Liverpool in order to demonstrate clear comparisons when evaluating our work. These activities included: pedestrian counts, surveys, soundscaping, environmental quality analysis and research into the pedestrians such as moods, age and what they were shopping for. After concluding our research we headed back home to SJP.

Overall, the trip was a great experience, teaching us the fundamentals of fieldwork and practical skills to take into future projects. Additionally, it was the first trip of the year and was enjoyable after missing out on so many opportunities due to COVID-19. This was a great day out where the SJP Geography community came together and learnt multiple skills. Personally I have developed more composure and confidence which will benefit me far into my future as a Geography student.

• Report written by Samuel Hanley, Yr13 Geography student