PUPILS from Wade Deacon got to take part in a tour of the First World War battlefields of Belgium and France.

During the recent February half-term, 40 GCSE students from the high school went on a three-day trip to follow in the footsteps of the British 'Tommies' 100 years on.

The group visited the locations of major battles around Ypres and the Somme.

Both pupils and staff were astounded to learn of the conditions that soldiers had to endure and by the tales of bravery and suffering brought vividly to life by their expert tour guide.

There was also a chance for them pay respects to the fallen as the group attended the last post ceremony in Ypres town centre and visited the famous Thiepval memorial to the missing.

A particularly poignant moment came when Year 11 pupil Ebony Illidge was able to lay a poppy beneath the inscribed name of her great-great uncle James Llewellin. James was one of 19 men killed in an attack on the French village of Puisieux in February 1917.

After the visit, year 10 pupil Sarah Baldwin said: “For me, the trip was a real eye opener. It allowed me to come to the sad realisation of the loss of so many men, many of whom would’ve been little older than ourselves.

"What really struck me though, was the care and pride taken in the maintenance of the memorials. It is very clear how much both sides of the conflict value the lives lost, even after over a century.

"Both my understanding of individual events and my true respect for those involved have grown massively.”