As part of the Year 12 Geology A Level course, in mid October, 16 students journeyed to Frome in Somerset to undertake an intensive day of fieldwork. The first visit was to the De La Beche angular unconformity where beautifully folded Carboniferous Limestone is overlain by horizontally-bedded Jurassic Oolitic Limestones. The students were able to put their practic al knowledge to the test and undertake experiments in order to determine rock types and degrees of folding at this site.

After that, we were met by a team of experts from the Somerset Earth Science Centre who took us into Whatley Quarry where Carboniferous

Limestone was being extracted for commercial use. The students were allowed to access the control room and see into the crusher, as well as learn about the step-by-step processes of open-cast mining. The timing was impeccable as they were fortunate enough to witness an enormous blast where tonnes of rock were blown by explosives from the 15 metre-high quarry walls.

Back at the Field Studies Centre, the students were then able to study the environmental consequences that must be acknowledged when quarrying; from the dust to noise to vibrations in the area around the site and it’s impacts on the local community.

Mrs Finucane, Geology teacher