Google Earth Update Leicester

After the improvement to Leicester's coverage in Google Earth we were still left with imagery that was seven years old. Now this has been updated with images that are just a couple of years old. You can now clearly see the blue roof of the school(still under construction) and Bradgate Park in the distance. Notice the sky now has clouds, this is because Google Earth has a new weather layer which is updated in near real time, but much more detailed than the overlay we have used in class. Could be useful for the year 8 weather benefits and hazards project.

Geography and reading week.

Thanks to all the groups who have been involved in doing "Horrible Geography" book reviews this week. The results have been amazing and it's been hard to choose the winners in each class.

Those who have been selected will be given the chance to process their reviews next lesson and then get them published on the geography website under pupils work.

Once again thanks for supporting Reading week with such enthusiasm.

Napoli update.

Salvage experts in charge of the recovery of the MSC Napoli, grounded off Lyme Bay in Devon, are planning to remove the ship from the coast.

Mr Middleton, the secretary of state's representative in maritime salvage and intervention said "It will be a case of trying to work out the best methodology, whether we cut her in two or whether we refloat her as she is. But she will be removed."

Follow this story with the BBC here

We told you it would snow!

Well we tracked the snow today as it swept its way northwards. Those of you in Mr. Batchelor's classes had the chance to see the snow around the country on the weather cams. Sadly as you can see from the photo of the school Leicestershire only got a thin covering. Watch out tonight as plunging temperatures bring freezing fog! Remember to keep track of the weather here and check out Leicestershire in the snow here.

Snow Joke!

Some of you may have heard about the forecasts of severe weather for Thursday and the weekend. To find out the real story keep in touch using this link.

Latest UK Weather and Flood Warnings thanks to the BBC

Thursday 8 February WEATHER WARNING Wales, Midlands, southern and southeast England: Snow will become heavy during the early morning and may fall for as long as 6 hours at any one location. Typically 5cm of lying snow can be expected with as much as 15cm possible in some areas. Snow will move further north during the morning and afternoon. Valid until 1100GMT
Click here to check out weather web cams from around the UK, can you see any snow yet?

General: Turkey Trouble

If you are a turkey you can normally expect life to be looking up after Christmas, not so in Suffolk this week where an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus has killed 2600 turkeys. The good news is that if you are not a turkey or a bird you should be OK as the virus has generally yet to make the leap to humans. Scientists are keeping a careful eye on the whole issue as if the virus could yet change or mutate into a form that humans can catch. Details of this story can be found here and a map showing the spread of the virus is also interesting to explore. The whole story has got me thinking about how useful maps are in showing the spread of things like this and how viruses can now spread much more quickly in our mobile society. By the way the study of disease occurrence (where diseases are found) and distribution (how they spread over space) is called epidemiology. All of which begs one question; where did I catch the flu that has made me so ill this week..?

General: Google Earth Mystery

A couple of weeks ago we posted a mystery image from Google Earth. In fact it showed the shadows of trees cast on the River Thames in London, clearly the sun was low in the sky though the shadow shows the sun was still in the south. What could this tell us about the time of year it was taken? (Over to you year 9!). It should also remind us that these are images and not maps. Year 6 may want to think about the differences.

Geography images, be a school photographer.

Are you a top photographer? The great thing about Geography is that pictures tell a thousand words. As the holiday season approaches and you get to travel far and wide, how about bringing us back some of your digital images of weather, landscapes or other interesting features! Just not your dad buried up to his neck with the tide coming in Ehh!! Best ones will be included online in our Flicker collection

General: Man from the OS again

The nice man who came from the OS last week has sent us a map showing the work he was doing. Obviously for copywrite reasons we can't publish it here, though if you want to see it pop into the geography room. Thankyou man from the OS!

Tracking Santa

Following your attempts to plan Santa's route on Christmas Eve find out which of your routes he really follows on the Norad tracking Santa site. The fun starts Christmas Eve.