Year 9 Trip to Ypres

Year 9 enjoyed a fascinating and moving day at Ypres last Friday. The early start gave us ample opportunity to investigate some of the most iconic sites of the First World War and post-war memorials first-hand. We heard about the significance of Ypres in the context of the British campaign to remove Germany from Belgium, and all along the 440 miles of the Western Front, including a large scale and sobering depiction by the pupils of fallen comrades scattered across no-man’s land as the men went ‘over the top’. Amongst other activities pupils were also encouraged to re-create some of the most famous depictions of men, both British and German in the trenches themselves. Exploring Tyne Cot, the Menin Gate and Passchendaele brought the pupils closer to those who fought here and, with a visit to the German cemetery at Langemarck, this was not confined to the soldiers of the British Empire.