Geography Trip to the Netherlands

During the Easter Break our geography GCSE and A Level students traveled to the Netherlands to further their understanding of global geographical issues such as climate change. These trips not only bring the topics they are learning to life, but also give our students an opportunity to see the world.

The group was based in The Hague with further visits to Delft, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Throughout their trip they were able to experience the multifaceted layers of Dutch culture from visiting a the Clara Maria traditional cheese farm and clog factory to Kinderdijk, the largest container port in Europe. They also visited Batavialand, the cube houses of Rotterdam and the Euromast in Rotterdam.

Students were also able to visit Zandmotor Beach, an artificial sandbank off the coast near The Hauge that has been lauded for it's innovative approach to coastal maintenance. Our geography students could see the results of an effort to reinforce the coastline to create an attractive area for leisure and wildlife that works with nature for long term sustainability. The project, begun in 2011, dropped 21.5 million cubic metres of sand and allowed the wind the deposit it naturally, creating a new costal landscape for plants, birds and other animals that did not disturb the seabed. Visiting Zandmotor Beach was a wonderful opportunity for our students to see the principles of coastal management in action.

This was our first geography enrichment trip to the Netherlands since suspending our trips during Covid. These trip will occur every two years for students in KS4 and KS5 with our next trip due to take place in 2026. We are in the early stages of planning that trip and determining where we will go next!