Our Sixth Form pupils travelled to Iceland this term as they explored its fascinating landscape of volcanoes, geysers, hot springs and lava fields.

Landing at Keflavik airport, our A-Level Geography pupils’ Icelandic adventure began immediately. Driving through lava fields and craters to the Bridge between Continents – a 15-metre footbridge spanning a fissure between Eurasian and North American tectonic plates – to reach their accommodation under the Northern Lights.

During the next five days, pupils visited the Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Station for an interactive tour of the world’s sixth largest geothermal power plant, witnessed spouting hot springs including ‘Strokkur’ – one of the natural wonders – on the Golden Circle route, used ice equipment during their Glacier Walk at Sólheimajökull, and got up close to Iceland’s three most popular waterfalls; Gullfoss, Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss.

Geography subject ambassador and Head Boy, Archie McEwan, said: “The highlight of the trip was our walk on the Sólheimajökull glacier. We were fully kitted out with crampons and ice axes, and it was fascinating to see these geographical features first hand.

“In Year 13 we study tectonics, and Iceland is one of the best places to explore these geographical features. Created 16 million years ago from the Eurasian and North American plates splitting, in geological terms the landform is still very young. Having the opportunity to see, feel and explore volcanic craters, plate boundaries and geothermal power stations really bolsters our studies and helps us to picture things more easily when conducting research about it back in the classroom.

“My advice for those in Year 11 who are interested in taking geography at A-Level would be to go for it! Geography has such a wide range of topics, from human aspects of de-industrialisation and the governance of oceans, to how an ice age will affect sea levels – the variety allows everyone to explore all things global.”

Talking about the trip, Head of Geography, Edward Newman, said: “Iceland is the perfect place to see a wide range of other-worldly physical geography landforms, from glaciers and waterfalls to lava tunnels and geysers – all of which coincides with the units studied at A Level and the pupils will use several of these as case studies in exams.

“Geography is all about studying and making sense of the world, and visits like this bring these topics to life, something which could be quite abstract when studied only in the classroom. Iceland is so unique with the number of awe-inspiring locations so close together, and we look forward to our visit again in October 2026.”