The Learning Curve

We're really proud of the Local Studies programme at Mougins School as it gives our Year 7 students the opportunity to develop a range of skills while exploring the geography, history and culture of our beautiful local area. 

The programme is structured around numerous field trips, with the students learning a range of geographical enquiry skills that they put into practice on the trips. These skills include land-use mapping, field sketching, asking and answering geographical questions and carrying out environmental quality surveys and traffic surveys.

The programme of trips is constantly evolving but usually includes:

• La Grotte de St Cézaire limestone caverns
• Plateau de Caussols karst scenery
• Fragonard perfume factory in Grasse
• Confiserie Florian sweet factory
• Moulin de Sainte Anne olive oil mill
• Tanneron’s mimosa plantations
• Biot glassworks
• Terre de Soleil animal rescue centre in St Cezaire
• Lac St Cassien reservoir
• Jardins du Musée International de la Parfumerie in Mouans-Sartoux
• The historic villages of Mouans Sartoux and Mougins

The Local Studies curriculum has the Mougins School values at its heart.
The students are taught to RESPECT and appreciate their local environment and to take actions at a local level that have positive consequences on both a local and global scale. For example, they learn about how to assess environmental quality using the bi-polar semantic differential scale technique and they apply this to the school campus. As well as LEARNING an important Geography fieldwork technique, the students appreciate how fortunate they are to attend a school with such high environmental quality. It also makes them reflect on what actions they could take to improve environmental quality e.g. by picking up litter.

Year 7 Student Emilia’s Thoughts on the Local Studies Programme
"Living in Mougins has been amazing, and I really enjoyed my first outdoor class with the Local Studies programme. I’ve visited Mougins Village before, but never like this! It was incredible to explore the architecture and talk to the local people, especially in the shops where everyone was so welcoming. I can’t wait for the next adventure!"

Through learning about a range of environmental and social problems and solutions, the students realise the importance of their personal choices in effecting positive change. They understand that INTEGRITY includes reflecting on how local actions can have global effects and that 'doing the right thing' can make the world a better place. Our young environmentalists enjoy learning how small changes in their lifestyles can reduce their carbon footprint and their personal contribution to climate change. They also appreciate that buying a fair trade banana or chocolate bar can make a world of difference to the lives of farming families elsewhere in the world. 

The Local Studies programme has helped Mougins School develop positive links within the wider COMMUNITY of our local area. We have long-standing relationships with local businesses and community groups through our regular visits to sites of interest. 

In recent years the Local Studies team has also been liaising with Carmen Burgues to ensure that we can support her efforts to enhance our Eco-School status. This is why a trip to a recycling plant has become a feature of the programme. With the Eco-School project’s focus on food issues during this academic year, the students will be investigating the importance of concepts such as food miles, seasonality, organic produce and fair trade. 

Watch this space for photos of the students out and about on their Local Studies adventures over the course of the year!

 

Mrs Rachel Warren
Head of Humanities