The great outdoors Between 26 and 28 September, 52 Fifth Year pupils completed their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award practice expedition in Edale. Highlights over the course of the three days included Brown Knoll, Mam Tor and Crowden Tower, plus Stanage Edge. The weather, although chilly, remained dry only raining heavily at night. The groups showed determination, perseverance and a sense of humour in completing their expedition. The challenges presented provided excellent training for the qualifying expedition which they will undertake in June in the Brecon Beacons. Abingdon’s two teams - made up of James, Harry, Xien, Kit, Will, Ewen, Steven and Ryan - were placed 9 and 10 out of 914 teams nationally at the Cambridge University Biology Challenge. Over four rounds, this event invites students to answer thought provoking questions that challenge them to use their biological knowledge in novel ways. The teams answered questions such as do behaviours fossilise? Do animals dream? What are hallucinations? and how might Santa Claus manage to survive eating all those mince pies? th th Biological insights 3 abingdon.org.uk The new team of our Sixth Form Lower School Assistants had a very busy first few weeks of term. One of their duties is to ensure all our new Lower School pupils are settling well into life at Abingdon so, as part of the morning Tutor periods and during lunchtime on a Tuesday, they’ve organised games, a wide range of sports and other fun activities for them. This gives our Lower School Assistants the opportunity to mentor and lead whilst providing positive role models to their younger peers who are given a helping hand at forming new friendships and developing new skills. Lower School assistants In October, GCSE and A Level geologists visited Man O’War and Durdle Coves to study Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks. At Man O’War Cove, they deduced the younging direction and took dip and strike measurements to correctly conclude the marine sediments showed a cyclical pattern of transgressions and regressions. They admired the Cinder Bed - a highly fossiliferous layer of oysters traditionally marking the boundary between the Jurassic and the Cretaceous. Turning their attention to Durdle Bay, they examined the fault structures, being especially struck by the Purbeck anticline - one of the folds and faults across southern England created by the Alpine Orogeny. The day finished at Lulworth Cove with its famous Crumple (and some hot chips before the journey home). Geology field trip News Abingdon
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