"You have really lost it this time " and " Don’t you watch the news? You’ll loose your job" these were the comments when people find out that you are arranging a field trip abroad, and especially with year 13. But why should we take any notice? In the 50 fieldtrips that I have taken part in or led in the last 9 years this was the best ever, so sit back and see how much students can gain from a field trip to France.

Our excursion was to the Ski village of La Clusaz in the Savoie region of France, a stunning landscape, 1 hour from Geneva and the same from Chamonix. So what was the serious geographical purpose of this trip? Our field trip aimed to complete the report module on Leisure and Recreation for A level Geography EdExcel specification B. A subsidiary aim was to ensure students understood case studies for a module on Natural Hazards.

Sunday lunchtime: Leave school at 11.45 am. A luxury 49 seater coach was provided for 20 passengers. Travel via Eurotunnel through France.

Arrive in La Clusaz at 10.30 am the next day and settle into the hotel Gai Soliel a comfortable small hotel in an otherwise deserted resort. After lunch the student used the activity from the work pack (provided by Travel Bound) to map the affects of tourism in the village and the adaptation and growth because of tourism. (This matched one of the titles in the Global Futures questions). The evening was spent collating results from the day and setting up Tuesday’s activities.

We travelled to Chamonix the centre of climbing in the Alps. Our focus was not only on the adaptation and reasons for the growth of this tourist hot spot but also the management and impact of the avalanche hazard. The day started with a bang, a visit to the Aiguille du Midi a lift station on Mont Blanc at 3842 metres. The cable car ride alone caught the breath for the view and also for the unfortunate ones who had vertigo. Running about at the Aiguille is not really what you want to do as the air is thinner and even walking up a flight of stairs from the lift exhausts you.

The cable car up to the Aiguille du Midi

The view was as impressive and the flurry of snow led to the inevitable snowball game, which we all enjoyed! We could clearly see the wall and the splitters in place as avalanche protection. The sun came out to help our photographs and warm up those wet from snowballs.

After the magnificence of the cable car decent we ventured to the town and collected the packed lunches from the coach which could be eaten on the train on the way up to the Mer du Glace. This 40-minute train ride up to an area famed for its views, which cannot fail to make an impact on young people.

After the excitement of the mountains we moved into the town of Chamonix for some urban work. We compared Chamonix with La Clusaz and results were included in the students research report. The journey back to La Clusaz took over an hour, which was enough time for the students to absorb an appropriate video, ‘Vertical Limit’ about a minor mishap on K2! The evening was spent on an exam blaster session looking at how the day’s experiences could be used to answer a question on the Hazards part of Global Futures.

After a good night’s sleep the students of Cannock Chase High school headed for an urban fieldwork day in the town of Annecy. Their task for the day was land use mapping the settlement as a tourist location and the looking at the change in amenities for tourism.

The town of Annecy is famous as a tourist hot spot for the region and also as a historic centre. The town shows how planners have merged together the old town architecture and the new modern style architecture. The lake provided a fantastic backdrop for the day and inspired many of the students to come back for longer to look at the area.

New and old architecture in Annecy

After the hard work in Annecy, an evening spent in preparation for the microclimate survey in Chamberey the next day. As Manchester United was playing that evening some time obviously hard to be spent watching it with the locals in La Clusaz.

This was to be the pinnacle of a year’s work for me finding a vineyard that we could not only taste the wine at but also spend time amongst the vines themselves measuring variables for a microclimate survey. At 10.30 am we arrived at the vineyard of Xavier Jaquileine on the outskirts of Aix Les Bain. We hit the problem of my limited skills at French and the lack of English of the owner. To the rescue arrived his mother who must have been well into her 70s who spoke perfect English. The students were all stunned and somewhat humbled by her. Xavier and his mother gave us a guided tour of the vineyard and the students gained hands on experiences of viniculture.

Our interpreter who was very proud of the new press and lift.

After the tour of the vineyard the students were able to sample the produce of the vineyard and to help wash down the wine fresh warm home made cheese bread. With the students armed with a case or two of local produce we headed for the vines themselves. On the hill we were able to conduct measurements for humidity, pH, soil moisture, light intensity and profile of the slopes.

Measurements on one of the slopes.

In the great French style Lunch had to be seen to be believed and Xavier let us use his family picnic ground under the large tree in the centre of the vines. The students could not believe either the weather or the view.

Lunch in the middle of the vines, taking care to look out for the local wild boars.

After lunch and some analysis of the data we headed for the co-operative at Chamberey for a very different view of wine production. The co-operative is one of the largest in the region and was well set up to receive us. We watched an excellent video, which had a lot of detailed geographical links within it. The students observed how wine production affected the economics of the region and after another tasting decided that they once more needed to support this valuable local economy. We had planned a short visit to Aix les Bain but due to parking difficulties we had to settle for coffee in Annecy. The evening was spent relaxing as two of the students were 18 that day and we took over a local bar, which had a dance floor. In the early hours of the next morning we headed back to the hotel.

Due to the driver’s regulations we were not able to use the coach on the final day so we headed by foot up the valley to Lac du Cofins to study slope failure and again look at the environmental impact of tourism. The students by this point began to tire a little and the thought of the journey home was large in their minds.

The students returned to the hotel for an evening meal at 5pm and departure at 6pm. A night and half of the next day was spent travelling back via the Eurotunnel arriving back in Cannock at 11.30am the next day.

So will you do it again I hear you say? Of course, we have already booked for next year, and this will become a regular feature of year 13. I hope that this encourages other people to consider a trip abroad to study, the motivation now shown by the students is amazing.

With thanks to all the students who took part in the La Clusaz 2001 tour, Mrs Savage and the ever patient tour organisers at Travel Bound.