43 year 9 students from Oathall set off in the early hours of Friday morning travelling to Ypres to support their learning about the causes and effects of the First World War. The group visited cemeteries of British and German soldiers across the Ypres Salient, with many of the students stunned by the scale of the loss of life.
One of our students, Beatrix Burchnall, had done some research and found that a relative of hers was named on the memorial wall at Tyne Cot cemetery. She placed a wreath at the wall and a moment of silent reflection was observed by the whole group.
After the obligatory visit to a Belgian chocolate shop in Ypres town centre, the visit culminated with the Last Post ceremony at Menin Gate. This ceremony has taken place at 8pm every evening since 1928, and two of our students, Maisie Luckhurst and Elijah Freeman, were chosen to take part by laying a wreath in remembrance of the fallen.
Throughout the whole trip, our students behaved very respectfully and several commented on how moving the whole experience was.
