36 of our intrepid geographers from Years 8 to Lower 6 headed north towards the Arctic Circle this summer for a fantastic experience in Iceland. To view the full gallery of photographs please click here.

This exciting destination, where the land is both volcanically active and supports permanent ice, was our home for the week. The emphasis was very much on the natural landscape and it?s features; every day we saw something new including countless glaciers flowing down from the icecap, waterfalls of all sizes, hot springs, geysers, active volcanoes, portentous peaks and vast lava deserts. 

As well as viewing and taking countless photographs of the steaming and bubbling landscape, we participated in many activities from walking, horse riding, and swimming. We also travelled on various modes of transport such as an ice bus to journey on the icecap, and boats to adventure through the blue icebergs.

The trip was a great success; thank you to all the students for their endless enthusiasm and boundless energy, and of course the support of Abi Hoyle, Nicola Thurlow, Sr Paula and Louise Devine.

Rachel Tomlinson
Head of Geography

Iceland is a beautiful country and we were continually being amazed by the stunning surroundings. The girls kept a group diary and below are some of their thoughts and reflections from the week.

The Blue Lagoon

The Blue Lagoon

?We were taken back by the blue colour of the water?

?The beautiful blue steaming water and the face masks we all fashioned were an amazing experience?

The Blue Lagoon was awesome, the water was strange and salty, but it was stunning. The face mask was really cool but scared me a bit when the members of staff put it on!?

?It was a surreal experience with it being freezing cold outside and burning hot in the water. The bright blue water was so cool, apart from the smell"




Thingvellir rift valley

?Standing on one plate and then ten minutes later to be on a totally different one was fun. ?

?It was fantastic to see how the land moved apart at a constructive margin?

?It was strange to be standing in America one minute and then Europe the next?

Geysir

Geysir Explosions

"The atmosphere was great, everyone was so tense holding their cameras?

?They were fab when they exploded, although I was slightly scared as we were so close!?

Gullfoss and Seljalandsfoss Waterfalls

?What can I say? Amazing! We were able to walk right behind the waterfall and get a unique view of it.

Jokulsarlon pro-glacial lake/Iceberg lagoon

?A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! I loved the lagoon. It was brilliant and stunning scenery. Best day so far!

?The icebergs were so big and there were lots of different colours. We were also lucky enough to see a seal.?

The Myrdalsjokull Icecap

"The ice bus was a great way to explore the 3rd biggest ice cap in the world!.?

?It was very cold! And my fingers were dropping off by the end of it. I had a fantastic day?

?I will never forget the vast whiteness?

?Miss Tomlinson even decided to make a snow angel on the top of the ice cap.?

?I think this was my favourite day so far. Judging by the amount of smiles and snowball fights it is a memory no-one will forget too soon?

Horse riding in Hverageroi

Horse riding in Hverageroi

?I can?t say I was exactly in control!?

?My first trouble came when I had to get on the horse. It took me three attempts to get on twinkle toes!?

Whale watching trip from Reykjavik

Whale Watching but no Whales

?
On our last morning we finally managed to capture the illusive puffins on a camera, as we visited Puffin Island?

?The boat trip was really good, and we had some excellent views. We saw lots of different birds and some of us were lucky enough to see a dolphin?

?A great way to end the trip, even though we didn?t see any whales!?