A thought-provoking trip to Ypres
On Friday 4th October, 50 students and five staff set off for the annual Year 9 History visit to the World War One Battlefields. After a trouble-free journey to Dover, we boarded our ferry to Dunkirk, with the complimentary meal being appreciated by many!
Once in France we headed straight to the Passchendaele battlefields, scene of so many horrific events in 1917 in particular. A stop at Tyne Cot cemetery, where over 40 000 British and Commonwealth servicemen are remembered was an arresting sight, and we each had a small cross (thanks to Mr Bonney and Mr Burton in DT) to lay on a grave of our choosing. We also laid a wreath on behalf of the School, and had a short service of commemoration, with the wreath laid by Scarlett Baker (9Andrewes) and Ava McGarry-Knightley (9Ridgeway). The contrast with our next stop, Langemark German cemetery was remarkable – from ‘the glorious dead’ to a much more sombre scene. A mass grave of 24000 soldiers made many students really stop and think.
After these sobering sights it was off to our centrally located accommodation in the picturesque town of Ypres. After an evening meal, and some time to relax, a group of students and staff attended the Menin Gate wreath laying ceremony, where another wreath was laid on our behalf, by Mrs Jones, Isaac Searle (9Burrows) and Isabelle Fletcher (9Burrows). There was then some free time in the hotel (thankfully with a games room and good wifi!) before lights-out.
Saturday dawned bright and sunny as we headed to Hill 62, a museum on the edge of Ypres. The preserved trenches were a very different experience to the manicured sites seen elsewhere, and gave more of a flavour of what the trenches were like (if this is possible), including mud and tunnels! From there we journeyed to the Somme, site of the infamous assaults of 1916. First stop was the Lochnagar Crater, which was created when >20,000 kgs of explosive were detonated on 1st July. From there it was off to the monumental memorial at Thiepval, lined with the names of the missing - A powerful statement of commemoration. We finished of our tour of the Somme with a visit to the preserved trenches at Beaumont Hamel, where we walked through some of the events of 1916, and reflected on this site of Canadian commemoration.
After so many sombre sites, it was back to the hotel, and then off into Ypres for chocolate shops, waffles, and ice cream as the students had some free time.
A prompt and smooth departure on the Sunday morning saw us drive to the now obligatory French hypermarket stop for some last minute purchases, and then it was back to the ferry where were greeted as "The school with the well-behaved pupils", and then it was tired group of students (and staff!) that arrived back at school. The students' behaviour was excellent. The trip was a chance to learn a lot about key events in our nation's history, and also just to be with friends on a trip abroad, a real learning experience in so many ways.
My thanks must go to Mrs Grove, Ms Hurry, Mrs Jones and Mrs Syms-Evans, who accompanied the trip and helped make it such a success.
Mr J Barnett, Head of Humanities