10 Mar Trip to France

Last week (3rd -5th March) ten students from our  Y12 AS level English Literature group visited France to follow in the footsteps of England’s most famous War Poet: Wilfred Owen. Owen’s life was tragically cut short when he was killed in action during the First World War at the age of twenty five; he left behind him a legacy of some of the most moving and technically brilliant poems of the period.

The students followed Owen’s last days on the Somme and visited many of the locations that he wrote of in his poems.  Iconic memorials dedicated to the fallen and famous battle scenes were also on the tightly packed itinerary along with wading through water logged trenches and muddy fields to add a touch of authenticity to the trip!

Accommodation at the Poppies School Hotel proved a hit as did our personal and expert  guides: Collin and Ged who brought to life the Somme experience.

Back at school the students are now relating the scenes and conditions they witnessed on the trip to the poems they need to analyse for their A Level exam.

The trip was a very exciting but also a moving experience for everyone involved including Teacher and Guides; one we will never forget.  In this the centenary year of the end of the Great War it seemed ‘right and fitting to take the students to France….Lest we forget’.