WWI Battlefields Tour

On two weekends in September, two groups of 45 students from Year 9 (and a handful of Y11s) travelled to France and Belgium on a WWI Battlefields Tour.

During the tours we visited Tyne Cot and Langemark Cemeteries, the Passchendaele Museum, Essex Farm Dressing Station, Vimy Ridge, Ypres and Wellington Quarry.

We learnt about warfare in this era of history and how the soldiers lived, through looking at exhibits, handling artefacts and exploring reconstructions of the trench systems used.  At Wellington Quarry everyone had to wear a WWI helmet to take part in a tour of the tunnels in the quarry that were used as a hiding place ahead of a surprise attack in Arras.

At Ypres, we enjoyed some free time and chocolate shopping before being privileged to take part in the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate.  This ceremony has taken place every day at 8pm since 1928 to commemorate the soldiers who fought and died in the region during WWI.  We were able to participate by laying a wreath on behalf of the school community and join in the two minutes silence.

Before travelling we had undertaken research on the soldiers commemorated on the Sunbury War Memorial and it was very moving for students to find the memorials to some of the Sunbury Soldiers who lost their lives far from home.

It was wonderful to be able to take students away on these visits again for the first time since 2019 and look forward to taking Year 10 on a similar visit in December. 

A huge thank you to all of the staff who gave up their time to travel with the students and to the students who were a pleasure to be with, as well as, representing the school in such a positive way.