Trip to Belgium

Aylesford Remember - History Trip to Ypres

Yesterday 73 Year 8 and 9 students and staff members travelled to the battlefields of Ypres, Belgium as part of their History curriculum and with also reference to their English curriculum.

The weather was ever changing and the students had to do a lot more walking than expected due to the Remembrance day celebrations across Ypres. Considering the trip was focused on spending the majority of the time outside, the students showed amazing resilience, compassion, motivation and self-discipline.

The visit began with a tour of the Passchendaele Museum, looking at the 5 Battles of Ypres and the Battle of Passchendaele. From trying out the weight of the army kit soldiers wore, to experiencing what life was like in a WW1 underground Dug Out, the students really got a feel of what like was like for a solider during WW1. From this venue we travelled to Tyne Cot Commonwealth Military Cemetery to provide students with a clearer understanding of the huge scale of lives that were lost during the fighting of WW1. There was time for students to reflect on the events of WW1 and also reflect on warfare today. Students then travelled to Sanctuary Wood museum to experience a WW1 trench network system that a farmer had found in his field. Students were able to walk around the site and through the trenches to understand further what life would have been like on the front line.

After this, students were then taken to Ypres to visit a Belgium chocolate shop and they especially enjoyed the free samples! We were also lucky enough to walk up to the Menin Gate to show the students the memorial to the soldiers who lost their lives in WW1.

The students were a credit to the school! There were several compliments across the day at how well-mannered and respectful the students were. A big thank you to all those that took part in the day to make it a successful and fantastic experience for all involved.

Kind regards

The History Department