As we launch into the new academic year, we have a bit of news that didn’t quite make it onto our website in June. At the end of the last academic year Mr. Setchell and Mr. Brogan took a number of students completing their AS level Geography course to Italy to study the effects of volcanoes as part of the topic of hazardous environments in A-level Cambridge curriculum.
The students arrived in Rome where they explored the museums and churches in Vatican City, as well as some of the other sights such as the Colloseum, Pantheon and the newly refurbished Trevi fountains. They were then taken on a guided tour of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii to witness first hand the powerer of the pyroclastic flows that consumed this city in 79AD. It also showed the level of preservation achieved and the ability to see the day-to-day running of Roman life.
Following this, there was a coach journey and a small walk to the crater of Vesuvius. On the way there were lava flows from the most recent eruption in 1944 and then finally the crater itself, showing all the motioning equipment to make sure the residents of Naples are safe and forewarned of any eruptions. Thankfully it was quiet during our visit.
The students behaviour was, as usual, excellent and they represented Townshend International School very well. We hope to have many more excursions over the course of the new academic year.