Year 10 Controlled Assessment

All Year 10 students are currently undertaking their controlled assessment - writing 1200 words on the question "How and why do coastal features vary along the Dorset coast"

It is vital that you attend all lessons.

There are support materials for you to look at further down the blog, on the left hand side.

Revise thoroughly before each lesson as you will not be allowed to get help from your teacher during the exam conditions. Make sure you know what the answers are, what you have to do and how to do it. Ask your teacher for help outside the exam conditions.

If you miss a lesson you will have to come back Thursday after school to catch up. This is in L13 and will go from 3.40 to 4.40pm.

Gulf oil now in powerful Loop Current, scientists say

The first oil from the Gulf of Mexico spill has entered an ocean current that could take it to Florida and up the east coast of the US, scientists say.

The European Space Agency said satellite images suggested oil could reach the coral reefs of the Florida Keys within six days.

"We have visible proof that at least oil from the surface... has reached the current," said Dr Bertrand Chapron.

Meanwhile, the US said it was having talks with Cuba over the spill.

Observers say the talks demonstrate a concern that the oil may be carried by currents far from the site of the Deep Horizon disaster.

A BP executive said this week that the company had paid out $15m (£10.4m) in claims, much of it to shrimpers and commercial fishermen who have little or no income because of the spill.

Meanwhile, astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station have said they could see the oil spill while passing over the Gulf of Mexico.

"It looks very scary," Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov told reporters via a video link.

Oil spill - USA

A massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is slowly starting to reach the shore, according to reports.

Up to five thousand barrels a day are thought to be leaking from the site of the Deepwater Horizon rig which sank on 22 April after an explosion in which 11 workers lost their lives.

The delicate eco-system of the gulf coastline is rich in wildlife including the brown pelican, many species of duck, turtles, and whales.

There are fears that the disaster could reach the scale of the 11m gallon Exxon Valdez spill off Alaska in 1989.

Volcanic Ash from Iceland continues to cause disruption

The UK is enduring a fourth day as a virtual no-fly zone, as the travel chaos caused by volcanic ash drifting from Iceland shows no sign of ending.

Flight restrictions have been extended until at least 7pm and forecasters say the ash cloud could remain over the UK for several more days.

BBC business editor Robert Peston said the disruption risked becoming a "major business and economic disaster".

He said a number of European airlines were facing financial difficulties.

Our correspondent said: "If [the disruption] goes on many days longer, a number of European airlines will run into financial difficulties and may need bailing out by governments - or so I am told by senior airline figures."

On Friday, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned airlines would lose at least $200m (£130m) per day in revenues during the disruption.

Meanwhile, Dutch airline KLM and German airline Lufthansa have carried out test flights in their countries' airspace to see if it is safe for planes to fly.

KLM said its aircraft had been able to fly at its normal operating altitude of 13km (8 miles) over Dutch skies and no problems had been reported. The plane's engines were being inspected for possible damage, with a view to getting permission from the aviation authorities to start up operations again.

The disruption has affected hundreds of thousands of travellers since Wednesday, when the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano began erupting.

Among those affected were British wedding guests who had to watch on an internet connection as a bride and groom stranded in Dubai took their vows.

Link to live webcam of the volcano

The silver lining?

In the shadow of the volcano

Year 9 and 10 exams coming up!

Year 9 exam - on the theme of Sustainable development

This link may be of some use (although it is all about Northern Ireland) : http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/11_16/ks3geography/swf/index.shtml
There is more information about Sustainabke development, including a short video clip, further down the blog.

Year 10 exam - a decision making paper on the theme of coastal processes and management

This link may be of some use: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/geography/coastal/

Year 11 Revision material

Two more revision presentations for Year 11 have just been added - look on the left hand panel under the Year 11 banner.

GCSE students

Year 10 - information about May's controlled assessment can be found now on the left hand panel. Please take a look at it.

Year 11 - Two items have been added for your revision. One is a powerpoint, produced by the exam board which is well worth a look. The other is a 47 page document that has revision tips and case studies in it. Some of the case studies are different to the ones you have studied, but some are the same. It is worth getting hold of this document and printing it out.

Year 13 pre-release materials

Just a quick note to remind current Year 13 students that pre-release material for unit 3 and 4 will be available from May 4th 2010.