Year 9 Battlefields Trip
On Tuesday and Wednesday Year 9 visited the battlefields of the First World War focussing on the Battle of the Somme and the three battles of Ypres. During the trip pupils learnt about soliders who chose to go to war who were not much older than themselves at the Thiepval Memorial. They had the opportunity to visit trenches that have been preserved and consider how the modern world should view the conflicts of the past.
Many pupils were struck by the wide range of nationalities represented on the memorial monuments in what was the world’s first global conflict.
We were honoured to take part in the daily act of remembrance at Ypres Mennin Gate and were moved by the stories of individual soliders’ sacrifices. Few pupils will forget learning about the first use of gas on the Western Front or the origins of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance at Essex Farm.
