Year 9 Battlefields Visit

For me - and many other Year 9 students - the Battlefields visit was a fascinating experience, linking our learning in class to the reality of war through visits to important locations, museums and memorials.

Day one was spent travelling: a few hours driving and a ferry crossing. After a good night's sleep, we had breakfast and headed out to explore the many different cemeteries around Belgium, including a visit to the Passchendaele Museum. This was one of my personal favourite parts of the trip, as we saw firsthand what it would have been like to live and fight in the dugouts and trenches.

Next, we visited the Menin Gate. The Last Post ceremony has been held there since 1928 to commemorate Commonwealth soldiers lost in the war who have no known grave, and it occurs every day at 20:00. During the ceremony, three students laid a wreath on behalf of our school.

Afterwards, a favourite on the trip for some: the Belgian chocolate shop. On our last day, we travelled to the site of the Battle of the Somme, where we had a guided tour of Newfoundland Park. We also visited the Christmas Truce Memorial, which commemorates the unofficial ceasefire held on Christmas Day 1914, where both sides shared gifts and played football to celebrate. To this day, people lay footballs at this memorial to mark the event.

Having visited a range of WW1 locations and with a whole new understanding of this period of history, we headed back to the port for the ferry home. Overall, it was a really interesting trip and a reminder of the tragedy and loss that war brings.

Writing: Leon (Year 9)

Editing: Luke (Year 12)