Adventures at the Olympic Park

Year 10 Geographers investigated urban change in Newham

Intrepid Geographers in Year 10 set off for a day of fieldwork and research to investigate the impacts of urban redevelopment in Newham as part of their GCSE Urban Change topic. We arrived at the Olympic Park and were all impressed with the The Orbit sculpture, and then went on a self guided tour to consider how the area has changed in appearance in the decade since the Olympic Park was established. Pupils identified changes to the environment and built landscape, completing a variety of activities at different stations around the Park. We were particularly interested to notice how the concrete wall of the River Lea have been altered to encourage plant life, increasing biodiversity and adding to the visual appearance of the area. We even saw large birds perching to fish by the side of the river!

Following a rather chilly lunch break we moved on the Museum of London Docklands where we discovered more about how the East End changed as the Docks experienced the impacts of deindustrialisation. The Museum galleries were very interesting, and we were able to further develop our understanding of how the area has changed in the past 30 years by contrasting historic photos with the sights of the Olympic Park. It was interesting to contrast the Museum building itself, in one of the old wharfs, with the surrounding glass skyscrapers.