Five geology A level students from Telford College recently visited the Dorset Coast to gain vital primary research as part of their studies.

Second year A levels students Toby Pluck, Bella Cheetham-Wilkinson, Alex Emlyn, Veil Talens and Lily Pugh made the trip to the south west of England, along with lecturers Ffion Butler and James Glew.

Students started with a visit to Peveril Point, where they had an introduction to the geological features of the coastline, also known as the Jurassic Coast. This gave them the chance to make field observations identifying rock types, including Purbeck limestone, Whealden beds and chalk.

The following day, they logged a section of the Wealden beds at Man O’War Cove discovering rock descriptions, sedimentary structures, and took strike and dip measurements. Visiting Stair Hole afterwards was exciting as they made a field sketch of the Lulworth Crumple.

The Etches Collection Museum was the next stop, before finishing the day at Kimmeridge Bay where students identified a large-scale fault and antiformal fold structure and hunted fossils.

On the final day, the group visited Keates Quarry and studied dinosaur footprints. They were able to calculate an estimated leg and stride length to determine whether the dinosaur was walking or running.

Ffion Butler, geology A level lecturer at Telford College, said: “Everyone had a wonderful time and came back a better geologist with a fabulous rock collection.

“A huge thank you to Barry Cullimore from Geofieldwork Ltd, who was incredibly welcoming and encouraging to our students on this excellent three-day field study.

“Barry was enthusiastic and highly knowledgeable about the geology of the south west coast and this transferred to the students.”

Want to study A Levels at Telford College? Visit us on a college tour or open event to find out more.