News A Haven for Year 9 Geographers 19.09.2025

In September the Geography department took Year 9 to Cuckmere Haven, on the south coast, to study coastal environments. The trip has a long Godolphin and Latymer history going back to at least the 1990s, so after a hiatus of about eight years, Godolphin girls once again donned waterproofs, loaded their clipboards, and gathered their clinometers for a day of seaside fieldwork.

Stepping off the bus in Seaford, students and teachers were met with an all too familiar wall of drizzle, wind, and sea spray. Workbooks became soggy, and flared jogging bottoms soaked up water like blotting paper. Thankfully, it didn’t last long. By the time they had hiked up the hill away from Seaford toward Cuckmere Haven, blue skies appeared, just in time for lunch.

One of the main study sites was the Cuckmere estuary, where a contentious decision to stop protecting the beach has allowed coastal erosion to eat away at the cliffs beneath the famous coastguard cottages. Many films have been shot here (including Harry Potter), and the views across to the Seven Sisters are both majestic and instantly recognisable. Rumour has it this view of the chalk cliffs is the most popular screensaver in Japan.

Here, the girls drew field sketches before walking back along the river Cuckmere. This area, now left unprotected, is gradually rewilding, and the marshy ground made for challenging walking, with more than a few slips in the mud. They eventually made it back to the coaches muddy and wind-burned, but energised with plenty to talk about on the journey home.

Their lessons in the following weeks will build on the trip experiences, examining both the physical and human processes the girls observed at Cuckmere Haven.