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Year 8 The Big Pit and Cardiff Bay Trip

In October 2008 all of Year 8 visited The Big Pit and Cardiff Bay on the annual Geography fieldtrip. They visited the two sites in order to gather further knowledge and understanding of the rise and fall of the mining and shipping industries of South Wales. They also studied the urban regeneration of Cardiff Docks into Cardiff Bay.

The trip to The Big Pit was a change to the usual format for the trip and we are pleased that it was a successful and enjoyable addition to the Year 8 fieldtrip. The pupils very much enjoyed entering The Big Pit coal mine and gaining an insight into the life of the miners. They were able to glimpse, if only slightly, what the miners would have had to endure when working, for up to 12 hours, in complete darkness, several metres underground. They learnt about the importance of the coal mining industry to the economy of South Wales and how the decline, following World War 2, affected the local communities. The pupils were also able to meet and chat with ex-miners as they escorted the groups on their tour of the mine.

The trip to Cardiff Bay allowed the pupils to understand the link between the coastal zone of South Wales and the mining regions. They learnt about the history of the area, the role of Cardiff docks and how, following the decline of the coal mining industry, Cardiff docks became derelict. They then toured Cardiff Bay, the newly regenerated coastal zone of Cardiff, on foot and by boat.

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