A 60-strong Wemms group embarked on a geography field trip to build a picture of Leatherhead’s town centre. Undeterred by the damp wet weather (yes it was a typical UK summer day!), the team headed off to the park for a picnic lunch and a briefing, which set out the mission objective: understand how the UK town centre is ever-changing and evolving.
Once suitably fed and watered, the group reformed as smaller teams before setting off to look at the town centre with a whole new perspective. Each team was armed with a pack outlining the information they needed to collect.
With the mission now underway, luckily the sun decided to make its appearance during the walk into town. Upon arrival, some of the teams paused for breath as they formulated a plan for how they would assess the shopping centre’s appearance in 2022. Key questions included what type of shops we have in Leatherhead. Where are they located? How does this compare with how the town centre looked a few years ago? One of the most surprising discoveries was that the post office is now located in a glitzy new sushi bar and restaurant! An unusual combination but one that shows the diversity of the UK’s high street in 2022.
With their research complete, the teams stopped in the park for some fun in the play area before returning to school. All in all, everyone enjoyed a great afternoon which shed thought-provoking light on how our local town centre looks today.