Gatwick and Box Hill geography fieldtrip

Lower Sixth Form A Level geographers enjoyed an insightful fieldtrip to see the Gatwick Airport flood defence schemes. A flood engineer took students around various sites including the £12 million flood alleviation scheme which is designed to reduce flooding of the airport terminals. The morning finished airside next to the runway, viewing the attenuation ponds within the airport boundary. This is where runoff from the runways is separated, with polluted water sent for treatment 4km away at Crawley Sewage Treatment Works and cleaner water further cleaned to a level where it can be safely discharged to the River Mole.

As always, this was a fascinating trip, made possible thanks to RGS’s unique relationship with Gatwick Airport which has been built up over eight years following the floods of 2013. No other school has the same access to Gatwick’s flood defences and treatment works.

The afternoon was spent on Box Hill, open to all, where students conducted fieldwork on infiltration data collection using GIS data collection software on their phones.