Learning from the Past

Sixty-five very excited students and five staff left Bahrain on Friday 13 February for the start of the Year 9 History Trip. Arriving in Brussels later that day, we headed off to our first city, Ypres. Five of our students laid a wreath at the Last Post Ceremony in front of very large crowds and were excellent ambassadors for our school. The following day, the students were enthralled by the exhibits on display in the In Flanders Field museum and also by the guided tour of some of the World War 1 cemeteries and the trenches at Sanctuary Wood. The group then moved to Normandy and our first stop was the magnificent Bayeaux Tapestry. This period of history was studied in Year 7 and seeing the tapestry first hand was particularly special. The trip continued with visits to a 360° cinema showing the D-Day landings, and a walk down into the town of Arromanches famous for its Mulberry Harbour. The rain that fell that afternoon resulted in a shortened visit to an American War cemetery but the students were able to see the beach featured in the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan.  Finally, off to Paris  a guided tour of Versailles, a trip up the Eiffel Tower and Les Invalides. The day was completed with a shopping trip on the Champs Elysees and we certainly boosted the French economy. Our last day finished on a high at Disney which everyone enjoyed. Seven days after departure, some very tired students arrived back in Bahrain, suitcases bulging and with some amazing memories of a very memorable trip.