Worked example · Geography · Year 8
DCF: Producing → Sourcing, searching and planning digital content
A secure Year 8 response, annotated so you can see which success criterion each part meets. It is also your answer key. Grid references: station 2060, castle 2161, visitor centre 2260, Pont Droed 2160; the bridge in 2061 is Pont Fawr. Group times: A 42 min, B 36 min, C 52 min. Right route: C, arriving at 10:47 with 3 minutes to spare. Accept a straight-line distance between 1.6 and 1.8 km.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Station | 2060 |
| Castell Aberllyn | 2161 |
| Visitor centre | 2260 |
| Pont Droed footbridge | 2160 |
| Bridge in square 2061 | Pont Fawr, the road bridge on route A |
| Direction of the castle from the station | North-east |
| Straight-line distance | About 1.7 km. The castle is 1.2 km east and 1.2 km north of the station. I measured the diagonal against the scale bar and got 1.7 km. |
All the routes are longer than 1.7 km because they have to follow roads and paths, which bend, and they can only cross the Afon Llyn at a bridge. Routes A and C go well out of their way to reach a road bridge.
Easting before northing every time, the bottom-left corner used for each square, and a distance estimated from the scale rather than guessed. The reason for the longer routes comes from the map itself. Evidences criterion 1.
| Route | Distance (km) | App time (min) | Group time (min) | Step-free? | Toilets? | Other problem |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2.1 | 25 | 2.1 × 20 = 42 | Yes | No | Busy main road; pavement only 1 m wide on Pont Fawr, too narrow for a wheelchair with people passing |
| B | 1.8 | 22 | 1.8 × 20 = 36 | No — 24 steps | No | A user says the footbridge is closed |
| C | 2.6 | 31 | 2.6 × 20 = 52 | Yes | Yes, at the visitor centre | Longest, one gentle slope |
“Fastest” and “shortest” are worked out for one adult walking on their own. They don't know about Cerys's wheelchair, the steps, the narrow pavement or that we need a toilet. For our group the shortest route is actually impossible, and the fastest one is not safe.
Every group time is shown as a multiplication, so it can be checked. The answer notices that the app labels are true for one adult and wrong for this group. Evidences criterion 2.
(a) I trust result 1, the Cyngor Sir Aberllyn closures page, most. Who: the council looks after the town's bridges and paths, so it is the organisation that actually closed the bridge. When: it was updated on 2 March, this month. How exact: it gives dates (2 March to 27 March), the reason (repairs to the steps) and a diversion. It also agrees with the app's user report, but the council page gives much more detail.
(b) I would not trust result 3, the community noticeboard. It says Pont Droed is open, but it was posted 14 months ago, after an earlier flood closure. It was probably true when it was written. It is just old. The 2019 travel blog is worse: it was written years ago to make walks sound appealing, and it calls a bridge with 24 steps “perfect for all the family”.
(c) No. 19 March falls between 2 March and 27 March, so Pont Droed will be closed. Route B is out even before you count the steps.
(d)
| Exact words I would type | What I want to find out |
|---|---|
| Parc y Dref visitor centre opening times | We reach the toilets at 10:20. If the visitor centre opens at 10:30, route C has no toilet stop and we need a new plan. |
| Castell Aberllyn wheelchair access | The group-visits page says the towers are stairs only. I want to know what Cerys can see instead, so she is not left out of part of the tour. |
The source is judged on who, when and how exact, not on which one sounds most confident. The answer also sees that an old post can be honest and still wrong now. The two searches use short keywords and check facts the app cannot know. Evidences criteria 3 and 4.
We will use route C, through Parc y Dref. It is the only route that is step-free, open, away from the main road and has accessible toilets. Route B is ruled out twice: Pont Droed is closed from 2 to 27 March, and it has 24 steps. Route A is step-free, but it runs along a busy main road, and on Pont Fawr the pavement is only 1 m wide. That is too narrow for a wheelchair and 30 people. There are also no toilets on route A. Route C takes 10 minutes longer than A, but we still get there in time.
| Stage | Minutes | Clock time |
|---|---|---|
| Leave the station | — | 09:50 |
| Walk to the visitor centre (1.5 km × 20) | 30 | 10:20 |
| Toilet stop | 5 | 10:25 |
| Walk to the castle gate (2.6 − 1.5 = 1.1 km × 20) | 22 | 10:47 |
| Minutes to spare before 10:50 | 3 | — |
Three minutes is not much. I would ask the adults to have everyone ready to leave the platform quickly so we set off before 09:50.
The choice meets all three needs in the brief. Each rejected route is ruled out with evidence from the table and from the search results. The timings add up (30 + 5 + 22 = 57 minutes), and the small margin is spotted and planned for. Evidences criteria 2 and 5.
Every line has a compass direction, a landmark and a grid reference. An adult could follow it on the paper map if their phone ran out of battery. Evidences criterion 1.
Be on the platform at 13:30 − 10 min = 13:20. Route C with no toilet stop takes 52 minutes, so the group must leave the castle by 13:20 − 52 min = 12:28.