A group of young historians from The Ellesmere Port Church of England College (EPC) recently returned from an emotional and fascinating trip to the Western Front.
The students visited Ypres in Belgium to pay their respects to the fallen as part of the school’s remembrance commemorations and to find out more about the Great War.
Mrs Pierce-Wilson, Head of History at the College said: “You cannot underestimate the power of actually visiting the sites that are such an integral part of the history books when you study World War One.
“It is impossible to really get an understanding of the scale of the loss and devastation without seeing all the graveyards and the battlefields in person. It is sombre, but there is also something very special about understanding what other people sacrificed so that we can have the lives we have today. It really is a journey of remembrance and discovery.”
As part of the trip, students were asked to lay a wreath during an emotive service at the Menin Gate, one of four memorials dedicated to missing British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres.
Student, Gracie Butler, Year 10, said: “The trip as a whole was an eye-opening and emotional experience. It was good to see the things I’ve been learning about be right in front of me.”
Cath Green, Principal at EPC, said: “Trips like this are so important is lots of different ways. You could say that this was purely an academic history trip, but to do so would be to miss out on the impact that a visit like this can have on young people.
“Seeing the sacrifices that people, many of whom were not much older than our students, made 100 years ago is incredibly powerful. It helps students appreciate and value the society that we live in.
“That is why I think a trip like this has a much greater cultural and social importance – which is such an important part of the education that we offer at EPC.”
