Thirty senior boys experienced the spectacular sights, sounds, shakings and smells of one of the most volcanically active regions on earth in a five-day trip to Iceland.
The Geography expedition saw the Year 11–13 pupils cross from one continent to another, savour volcanic mud pools and take an ice trek on a glacier – and all against the backdrop of 150 earthquakes detected during their stay.
There was a serious academic purpose: the group did extensive fieldwork on tectonic activity, geothermal features and glacial landscapes that will prove invaluable for case studies in their GCSE and A-level preparations.
Head of Geography Chris Butler, who led the expedition, said: “It was an unforgettable five days, during which we saw eruptions from a hydrothermal vent, stood beside the majestic part-frozen Gullfoss waterfall, and gazed in wonder at the breathtaking aurora borealis – the Northern Lights.
“For all the boys, I am sure it will not only have added to their stock of geographical knowledge and skills, but will have brought GCSE and A-level Geography to life.”
Mr Butler accompanied the party, assisted by Geography teacher Staycie Domzalski and Economics teacher Dr Celia Wallace.
After flying in to the country’s main airport, Keflavík, southwest of Reykjavík, the group headed immediately to the Grjótagjá fissure system, where widening fractures mark the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. Pupils were able to physically cross the Mid-Atlantic Rift – a dramatic reminder of the immense geological forces shaping Iceland, and of the risks posed by ongoing magmatic activity beneath the island.
After a night in the Hotel Cabin, they explored the capital, before moving on to the world-renowned Blue Lagoon. Here, they received a briefing about volcanic unrest at the nearby Sundhnúkur crater row, responsible for major lava flows in July 2025, and enjoying the geothermal waters and volcanic muds.
As they travelled on through Iceland’s volcanic landscapes, further highlights followed in quick succession:
- Visiting the town of Grindavík, evacuated in November 2023 after eruptions from the Fagradalsfjall fissures that saw lava flow into the streets. The boys spoke to residents who have begun to return, despite an uncertain future.
- Stopping at Seltún geothermal area, with its steaming fumaroles (vents emitting steam and volcanic gases) and bubbling mud pools.
- Travelling around Iceland’s iconic Golden Circle. They began at the Þingvellir rift valley – a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where North America and Eurasia drift apart at several centimetres per year – before continuing to Geysir, observing the Strokkur hydrothermal vent reliably erupting every 6–10 minutes, before finishing at the Gullfoss waterfall.
- Staying at Hellishólar Cottages, beneath the mighty Eyjafjallajökull volcano –infamous for its 2010 eruption that grounded over 100,000 flights – with the terrain blanketed in thick snow.
- Touring the Lava Centre in Hvolsvöllur, an interactive exhibition exploring Iceland’s volcanic systems.
- Treading the dramatic black-sand beaches of Reynisfjara.
“The climax of the trip was an ice trek on the Sólheimajökull Glacier, complete with crampons,” said Mr Butler. “Pupils spent two hours investigating supraglacial and englacial features, observing blue ice and dirt bands, meltwater channels and sediment layers.”
The glacier’s rapid retreat — up to 50 metres per year since the mid-2000s — has produced a growing proglacial lagoon now almost 1.5 km long and 60–70 m deep.
“In 2010, the lagoon was barely visible; in the coming decades it may reach 4 km in length. This provided powerful, first-hand evidence of contemporary climate change,” Mr Butler added.
A brief stop had been planned at Seljalandsfoss to get a group photograph before the boys returned to Heathrow. But the Land of Ice and Fire had one final spectacle for them: the glorious colours of the aurora borealis lit up the evening sky to bid them farewell.
Mr Butler thanked both his colleagues and the boys, “who were enthusiastic, inquisitive and intrepid throughout”.
Click on the thumbnails to view the images.
Firstly, plans to take them to Flatford Mill Field Studies Centre in Suffolk for their field trip had to be abandoned because of flooding.
School Captain Tunishq Mitra, who was one of the group, said: “Our field trip was a great opportunity to do some hands-on work and develop a better understanding of our wider Geography syllabus in an enjoyable way. It was fascinating to see the complex interactions between all the natural processes we study in real time, including the partial cliff collapse.”
Geography teacher and Deputy Head (Academic) Anne Macdonald said: “With its rapidly retreating coastline – largely due to its less resistant lithology of London clay and unconsolidated deposits – Walton-on-the-Naze provided the perfect setting to investigate those two questions.”
Mrs Macdonald said: “Fieldwork is an essential geographical skill – it is how we measure and observe the world. Fieldwork is the means by which geographers test their predictions or formulate new theories about the world.
The first QE trip of its kind to the historic Mini Plant Oxford provided a look behind the scenes at how advanced manufacturing processes, automation, and teamwork are combined on a single production line.
The plant on the Oxford ring road was the car body manufacturing business of the Pressed Steel Company, founded in 1926. It became part of the huge Morris Motors – later British Leyland and then Rover Group – site at Cowley, which incorporated three factories. Today only the Mini plant remains.
They delved into details of the manufacturing process such as the ‘Prüfcubing process’, used to evaluate the fit, function and development of parts before a model launch. The boys saw a Prüfcubing body – a life-size model of a car body with a tolerance of +/- 0.2mm that was manufactured from solid aluminium, taking 2,000 hours to machine and worth some 1m Euros.
