Ypres Trip

On Friday 25th March, the Academy took 80 students to Belgium to visit the World War One trenches and War Graves.

We had an early start and following a trouble free journey we arrived at Tyne Cot cemetery by 11:30 local time. The students had already seen small War cemeteries from the coach window as we travelled through the Flemish countryside, however they we almost speechless by the row upon row of white headstones that awaited them at Tyne Cot.



With complete respect to the location, the students looked for familiar surnames and ages of the deceased. They were able to see that some young had died on the same day, presumably following a specific battle. However the sheer volume of names on the wall at the far end of the cemetery was incomprehensible and more than one student had to ask if any name was recorded more than once.



Next we went to Sanctuary Wood Museum (Hill 62). The students were able to explore an original trench layout. As you can see from our photos it was very muddy and the students began to understand the conditions that the soldiers had to endure.



We had lunch in Ypres and were very lucky as it was one of the warmest days this year. After lunch we all visited the IN Flanders Field Museum. The students were given a ticket with a name on and through the use of technology, they were able to follow the war experience of their person and discover whether they died or survived.



A short walk away from the museum is the Menin Gate and once again the students were amazed by the amount of names engraved into the stone.



One visit that was very popular was to the chocolate shop! Students were given a taste of Belgium chocolate before entering the shop and of course this encouraged them to spend!

The Belgium experience was a huge success and all the students should be congratulated on their maturity during a visit that could be quiet emotional.





Here are some comments from students:

"The best attraction was the chocolate shop. The war attraction brought lumps to all our throats. We had a great day and it was a great experience." – George Carpenter year 8

"Belgium was excellent; I had a really good time. My favourite part was the graves. I couldn’t find my name, probably it is there. The chocolate shop was good they had a good deal. The war graves were emotional." – Ben Haylor year 8

"The day was very cool and the chocolate shop was cool, thank you for taking me to Belgium." – Tiffany year 8

"Belgium was really fun. The chocolate shop was really good. Thank you for taking me to Belgium. We went to a cemetery, there were so many graves." – Simone year 8

"It was a fun trip, it showed how many lives were taken and the courage they all had to go to war." – Kathryn year 11

"Belgium was really fun and we went to a cemetery. I was shocked how many people died in the war. Thank you for taking me." – Nikita year 8

"The Tyne Cot cemetery was very moving to see. It really made us realise how many people are killed in war. Also the trenches showed us the very poor conditions in which the soldiers had to endure. It
was all a very good experience, thank you." – Elizabeth, Gemma, Katherine and Holly year 11

"I really enjoyed my trip to Belgium. I was surprised how many people died and the conditions of the trenches. It was really fun thank you for taking us." – Callum year 8

"I really enjoyed the trip to Belgium. Really fun but sad at the graves." – Luke 9Y

"It was really good with lots of facts." – Reiss year 9