Students on the Front Line

Hassenbrook History Trip

Forty three students studying History at Hassenbrook School have recently returned from the WW1 Battlefields of Ieper in Belgium and the Somme in France . Miss Shepherd Leader of Learning History said, ‘This educational trip was a fantastic experience for all our pupils who were fortunate to attend and really benefited from seeing first hand the effects of WW1 which could never be achieved through text books or the internet. Anglia Battlefields tour guides accompanied our group to the various sites and cemeteries including the Tyne Cot Cemetery at Passendaele providing the necessary background information needed in order to put these tragic events into perspective. Visits to mine craters, trenches and museums helped the group to understand what the soldiers had endured nearly a hundred years ago.

Students felt privileged to take part in the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ieper, laying a wreath in remembrance of those who fought and died in WW1. Arrangements were also made for Year 9 student Charlie Parker to pay his families respects to Mr Walter Siewertsen, a distant relative at the Aristocrats Cemetery in Zonnebeke. During our visit to the marked grave Charlie was able to lay a cross decorated with a poppy. It was a moving, thought provoking and memorable experience for both staff and pupils alike.