Field investigations are an integral part of Geography. We begin in the Preparatory School with visits to farms and studies of the local environment. We are also involved in outdoor pursuits.

At GCSE we carry out both personal and class investigations. Each student must carry out personal research on a topic of their choice. In addition we undertake river and land use investigations on Third Form Field Week, a week spent in the Cairngorm mountains on outdoor pursuits, geography and biology. In Fourth Form we investigate the Central Business District of Edinburgh and the factors controlling house prices in the city.

Sixth Form studies involve frequent short excursions in Edinburgh and visits to museums, the Botanic Gardens and Royal Scottish Geographical Society lectures . We run expeditions to Iceland for a week to study glacial landforms and volcanoes and to Jordan to study desert environments. In 2005 we ran an expedition to Iceland. We also visit the Cairngorms for the weekend to study glacial landforms and land use conflicts and carry out other studies of the Scottish landscape.

Fieldwork is an integral part of Sixth Form courses and involves afternoon, day and weekend excursions to locations around Scotland. A project based on personal research is required for A Level as a substantial part of the final public examinations. Fieldwork increases self-reliance and develops the ability to work on your own, as well as co-operating in group data collection exercises. Students have carried out field studies in Iceland and Morocco in recent years.