Geographical Association rewards Stamford’s fieldwork achievements

A team of three students from the Stamford Endowed Schools recently won an award for the best fieldwork presentation at the Geographical Association’s Worldwise Challenge weekend over 28th and 29th  September. Six Year 11 students attended the weekend, which provided hands-on opportunities for students to engage in a range of competitive and fun fieldwork activities in both the urban and rural landscapes of Shropshire. Stamford Endowed Schools were among a handful of schools selected to attend these free weekends, with the students investigating the question ‘what makes this place special?’.The Challenge weekend was in preparation for the Geography Association’s South Lincolnshire WorldWise Quiz, hosted in the Oswold Elliot Hall at Stamford School on Thursday 10th October 2019, presenting the largest of the annual quizzes to be held in the area for five years. Taking the form of a ‘University Challenge’ style face-to-face quiz, the event encompassed eight rounds of thought-provoking geographical questions.Nine schools in the local area participated, entering 56 students in total, with the schools putting forward two teams of three students each. The Schools welcomed the return of Uppingham and Oundle and introduced Oakham and Kings Grantham for their first appearances in the competition. These were combined with the seasoned competitors of Stamford Welland, Spalding High, Bourne Grammar and our teams from SS and SHS.Stamford School entered three Year 10 students, Sam Barwise, Ben Foster-Jones and James Lovell, alongside our three WorldWise Challenge winning Year 11 students, Rafa Parker Humby, Soham Chakravarry and Josh Wells. Six Stamford High School students were also entered, including Nichola Cato and Maddie Pike of Year 10 and Lucy Barber, Lea Swanwick, Mya Bailey and Kitty Hawthorne from Year 11.Brendan Morris, Worldwise Coordinator at the Schools, commented “Our Year 11 students completed extensive measurements in the field at their WorldWise Challenge, both at the stunning Carding Mill Valley and in the busy Shropshire Metropolis of Shrewsbury. They all showed fantastic work and dedication over the weekend. A massive congratulations go to Josh, Soham and Rafa on their awards! ““The WorldWise Quiz was an utterly superb evening of geography and competitiveness! There was a great ambience and competition had by all 16 teams competing. Well done to Oundle for lifting the South Lincolnshire crown. We look forward to welcoming all these teams, and hopefully a few more, back to Stamford again next year. A big thank you must go to the SES geography team for all their help in running the event.”