Birmingham’s ‘Big City’ transformation gives students a field day

The Field Studies Council, the UK’s expert leader in urban and environmental fieldwork, has created a special series of courses around the redevelopment of Birmingham to help GCSE and A-Level geography students better understand urban growth and regeneration.

The new course, which uses real-life projects and case studies from across the city, coincides with ambitious plans for the area to become a world class city over the next 20 years, creating thousands of jobs and generating billions of pounds for the economy.

Students from Solihull School have become some of the first learners to trial out the courses, which cover a range of themes including changing places, regeneration, economic growth and changing city environments.

Jo Harris, education manager for the Field Studies Council, said: “We are so excited to be leading these urban fieldwork courses in Birmingham, helping young people to better understand urban environments and how they change and develop over time.

“As the UK's second city, the area is rich with real-life examples of urban regeneration projects to showcase to the students and get them thinking about the socio-economic, environmental and cultural opportunities and challenges that they present.

“The ‘Big City Plan’ is at the heart of Birmingham’s current transformation but with other ongoing major projects such as the HS2 rail project, the Paradise redevelopment, Birmingham’s Enterprise Zone as well as previous flagship schemes such as the regeneration of Perry Barr for the Commonwealth Games, the Bullring, Millennium Point and more there is so much to discover and explore.

“When most people think about geography and the environment, they naturally think about big landscapes, hills, mountains, rivers and the sea but in contrast there is also so much to learn about our urban landscapes.

“If we want to nurture the next generation of successful urban designers, town planners and big city thinkers then young people need to understand the relationships between our natural and built environments and learn about the impact of change, and these courses challenge students to think about all these things.

“They also teach students about urban fieldwork techniques – skills they can use in real life should they go on to work in a built-environment-related career - and they allow students to apply their knowledge in a real-world setting.

“For teachers, the courses are a great way of cementing theoretical learning from inside the classroom, as well as embedding enquiry skills, and we are looking forward to working with more schools and colleges from across the area in 2025.”

For more information about the Birmingham courses visit https://www.field-studies-council.org/locations/fsc-birmingham/