We are so fortunate to have part of the River Itchen running through our School, and we certainly made the most of it this week. Ross talked about how chalk streams are formed. The boys put some chalk into a bucket of water to see how permeable it was. They also learnt about the natural and man-made parts of the river and discussed the Itchen Navigation.

The boys were able to answer many of Ross’s questions based on what they had learnt from their Geography lessons and from personal experience. Ross was very impressed with their knowledge. The boys then used a tennis ball, tape measure and timer to see how fast the flow of water was travelling. The highlight of the session was the kick sampling. Year 4 were taught how to safely collect invertebrates which live in the river. The boys were amazed to find an array of different animals from caddisfly larvae, mayfly nymph, shrimps, worms and leaches. Some boys were lucky enough to see a bullhead fish. The boys absolutely loved identifying the different animals and comparing what they had found.

It was a truly brilliant afternoon and the boys thoroughly enjoyed their Rivers Session. Thank you so much, Ross, and his helper, Perline. 
Miss McGrath