Sixth Form Geographers tour the London 2012 Olympic Site
The Year 12 Geographers’ latest foray with Mrs Buckley and Mrs Brown was to the London borough of Newham to tour the Olympic site and witness the radical transformation of this area. The regeneration in Newham is part of a wider project called the Thames Gateway, Europe’s largest regeneration project. The girls were able to view the new Olympic stadium, the Velopark and Aquatic centre and study the plans for the creation of the new Olympic park around the River Lea. The London 2012 Olympic Games are to be the most sustainable games ever and its legacy will provide new homes, jobs and sporting facilities in an area currently ranked as the sixth most deprived in the country.
After assessing the progress of the Olympic site, the girls continued on their tour to the Thames Barrier Park. This millennium project is described as the jewel in the crown of London’s parks. It lies to the south of the Royal Docks on the banks of the Thames and provides stunning views of the Thames Barrier. As much of the Thames Gateway project lies on land that is vulnerable to flooding it is an important question to ask how this area is protected and how long the flood barrier will be effective for. The girls discussed these important issues as they relaxed in the ‘Green Dock’ on the hottest day of the year before heading for Covent Garden and a little Olympic-style retail therapy!
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