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Year 9 Battlefields Visit 2016

On Wednesday 3rd February, over seventy Year 9 students travelled with staff to Belgium, for a three day visit to further their our knowledge of the events of World War One.  The following is an account compiled from extracts of students’ journals:

On the first day we visited several interesting cemeteries. We found it really fascinating and we were thankful that so many soldiers fought for our future. On the busy second day we visited more cemeteries and we saw a Canadian monument donated by France to thank and commemorate the brave solders. After that we visited reconstructed Canadian and German trenches; we learnt about the Canadian support for WW1.

 

We then continued our journey to where the Battle of the Somme took place.  We had opportunity to witness the distance the British troops travelled.  In the afternoon we went to a large memorial called Theipval (which has its 100th anniversary this year) to see the names of all the soldiers whose bodies have yet to be found. In the evening we visited the city of Ypres and witnessed the Menin Gates.

On the final day we visited a cemetery and experienced the real conditions of the trenches, including the mud! This was followed by a visit to the “In Flanders Field” museum and happily, some chocolate shopping.

 

In conclusion, we found the whole experience eye-opening and very memorable. We would really recommend this as an amazing once in a lifetime experience, which would be a shame to miss out on.

 

Niamh Quinn, Mona Al-Shamma, Hayley Duck, Akua Asare and Sally Parkhurst