KINGSTON GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP

“On Monday 1st October, Year 11 Geography students went on a GCSE field trip to evaluate the quality of life and retail patterns in Kingston. We investigated different areas in terms of housing, environmental quality, access to services, social well-being and sustainability. Furthermore, in Kingston High Street, we investigated different retail patterns and trends in multiple shopping areas around to find evidence of regeneration.

The day started with us exploring three streets in Kingston and evaluating the housing quality, environmental quality and local services. We then politely asked members of public for their opinions on these three streets; some of the words we collected include “picturesque”, “homely” and “historical”. We were able to gauge their perceptions on the local area and made some field sketches along the way.

After lunch, we did a bi-polar analysis of two different areas in the High Street to determine whether it was a clone town (contains the same shops and looks like most other UK towns) or a hometown (distinct from other shopping areas in the UK). We also completed a pedestrian flow survey across 12 shops to evaluate how many people were entering and exiting the shop in two minutes.

Overall, the day was very educational as it helped us grasp a better understanding about the quality of life and retail patterns in Kingston.” Written by Nicole Watkins, Year 11.