A total of 46 Year 10 students and four staff took part in a most successful History visit to Ypres in Belgium and to the Somme in France visit World War 1 battlefield sites

A total of 46 Year 10 students and four staff took part in a most successful History visit to Ypres in Belgium and to the Somme in France.

Students visited World War 1 battlefield sites looking at technologies and strategies employed during the War. A Macmillan Academy wreath was laid at Tyne Cot Cemetery in Passchendaele, the largest British war cemetery in the world, with 12,000 graves and the names of over 35,000 soldiers who were missing and have no known grave.

One particular highlight of the visit was finding the grave of Private John Cunningham VC on the Somme. Private Cunningham was awarded the Victoria Cross for an act of outstanding valour in 1917. Jennifer Salmon, one of the Year 10 students on the visit, was the first relative to have ever visited the grave of her great great uncle.

On the final evening of the five day visit, students attended the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres.