March 14, 2023 11:13am
History students from Brixham College have explored what life was like on the frontline throughout the First World War during a sombre trip to the France and Belgium battlefields.
After catching a ferry from Dover, Year 10 and Year 11 pupils spent three full days visiting sites in the Ypres area in Belgium on Friday, then travelled to the Arras and Somme regions in France on Saturday, before walking around final sites in the Ypres area in Belgium on Sunday before returning home.
Two Year 12 students supported staff as ‘Student Mentors’ to provide wellbeing support for students, which they used as an opportunity for work experience.
Mr. A. Tailford, the Deputy Head of Sixth Form and Teacher of History who attended the trip, says it’s important to travel places to support learning.
He said: "The best way to really understand your place in the world today is to travel to different places and engage in the history of those locations. Learning about other times and other cultures can help you to put your own life into context, become a more tolerant and accepting individual, and just provide you with an appreciation of those who came before. Plus, spending time away from home in such a way makes moving out at 18 for university or the world of work a lot easier."
By visiting the battlefields on the Western Front, the young historians were able to put the events studied into context, specifically linking them to medicine and health for their Historic Environment Study (Medicine Through Time) for their GCSE.
The trip supported a unit the pupils were working on that specifically looks at primary sources of events, so it is important for students to see the landscapes, recreation trenches, artefacts in museums, and hear first-hand accounts of individuals.
Speaking of his experience attending the battlefields and providing Brixham College students with the opportunity to visit the battlefields, Mr. Tailford added: "Trips like this are one of the most rewarding parts of my job. As a teacher of history, I love being able to share my passion for the subject in the classroom, but seeing the students moved and in awe by being in the place where these events took place is incredibly meaningful. I truly believe we should all visit the battlefields of the First World War at some point in our lives to remember those who were tragically lost in war. The most moving part is being able to visit the grave or name on a memorial of a student's lost relative; the students are always shocked at how real it all becomes. This year we visited one student’s great-great-grand uncle, alongside the relatives of two members of staff."
Simeon, a Year 10 student who enjoyed the trip, said it was a never-to-forget experience seeing where the battles actually took place. He said: “I was able to see where battles actually were and especially see how close the Advanced Dressing Stations (ADS) and Casualty Clearing Stations (CCS) were to the frontline, which was hard to visualise in a booklet in class. By attending this trip, you are able to get a better visualisation of how big the battles actually were especially when you see how far people in the Somme got, like the Newfoundland regiment at Newfoundland Memorial Park.”
Kacey, also in Year 10, was impacted by the number of lives lost during the battles. She said: “When we went to the battlefields for the first time, it was a sense of shock to see the vast numbers of soldiers that have died in one battle, and even when we went to the graveyards and saw all the names of the missing soldiers.”