year 9 in France for battlefields history trip & more this week

We have already shared news about our Year 8 Netball triumph, our Architecture Careers Talk, our Woodlands Trust project, and our Interhouse Chess tournament, but there has been lots more taking place this week:

Year 9 Battlefields Trip

Year 9 left on Wednesday for the long-established UGS History trip to the Battlefields of France, that gives our students the opportunity to visit the historically significant Somme area and the Thiepval Memorial, the huge structure that is inscribed with the names of the 70,000 lost soldiers who tragically were never found, in what is not only an historically pertinent, but an enriching and moving experience for all involved.

Year 9 also visit Ypres in Belgium and the Tyne Cot cemetery, which is the largest British cemetery in the world, and again our students have the opportunity to pay their respects to the overwhelming number of unidentified victims of war.

Our students also engage in a remarkable opportunity to experience as near to a first-hand feeling as it is possible to get of what life in the trenches would have been like for those in battle at the preserved trenches at Sanctuary Wood,

 

And finally, Year 9 will witness the Last Post ceremony at Menin Gate, where each night all surrounding roads are closed in order to conduct a full ceremony with trumpets and wreath laying.

There has already been lots of positive feedback about our students who are away, and our current Year 9s are demonstrating that they value this enriching opportunity as much as those students who have previously taken part in this trip over the years, and who repeatedly testify how much it has meant to them, not only on an educational, but on a personal level.

With huge thanks to the staff who have accompanied our students and who have made this trip possible, and we wish them all a safe journey back.

Also in school this week:

Year 12 Mentoring Day: an invaluable opportunity for Year 12 to meet with their subject-specialist mentors and to evaluate their progress, achievements, targets and goals

Preparations for Inter House Sports Day

Launch of lunchtime Creative Writing Fiction Club

And tonight it is the PTA Year 7 Silent Disco, and we are sure that you will all have a totally amazing time!