Winston at Ypres
On the Friday we left school at 5am in order to make the most of the day! We visited Tyne Cot cemetery (the largest Commonwealth cemetery) and Langemarck Cemetery for German soldiers who dies in WW1. We also visited Essex Farm cemetery which is where Private Strudwick, the 15 year old soldier, is buried. It is also the place where John McCrae wrote the poem 'In Flanders Fields'. The students enjoyed exploring a real German trench with dug outs and they could look over the top of the trench down the hill to where the British trenches would have been. The day ended with 3 students, Thomas Kieckbusch, Bethany Cook and Faiza Parvez laying a wreath at the Menin Gate as part of the daily remembrance service; we also made time for a quick visit to the infamous chocolate shop!After a night in a hotel the students explored the Somme region. We visit Lochnagar crater at La Boiselle. The crater was created when the British set off explosions under the German trenches via tunnels they had dug. It is said that the German trench was blown 300 feet into the air, the crater is considered to be a grave and people are not allowed to walk in it. We also visited the Ulster Memorial for Irish soldiers and Theipval Memorial. Students visited Newfoundland Park which is where Canadian soldiers fought in the Somme. There are trenches there that have been left since WW1 and students got a real feel for how deep they were and what it could have been like to live there. The German front line is also available to explore so it was interesting to learn about how a battle played out at the Somme. Finally, students were given a guided tour around the Arras tunnels. These are old mines that are under the town of Arras and were used to house soldiers for 10 days before the battle of Arras.
The behaviour and conduct of our students was commendable and we all thanked Phil the coach driver for being brilliant!
Woking Remembrance Parade
Rachel and David, Headgirl and Headboy, led a group of our senior prefects at the Woking Remembrance Day Parade, on Sunday 8th November. I would like to thank everyone for taking part.
