Big thank you from Lisburn.com

Local schools pay special visit to the Battlefields

by STACEY HEANEY
The group of pupils who visited Belgium on an EMU trip last month.
The group of pupils who visited Belgium on an EMU trip last month.

PUPILS from St. Patrick's and Lisnagarvey High Schools took part in the 18th annual visit to the First World War battlefields in Belgium and France recently.

Pupils from the two schools visited Tyne Cot and Langemarck, Ypres, Albert, Thiepval, the Ulster Tower, where a wreath is always laid, and other sites in the Somme valley during the trip.

Interesting

William Smyth and Lewis Heasley with a wreath laid by the school's at the Ulster Tower.As usual, it was a very useful and interesting trip for both pupils and teachers and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

The group also joined a very large crowd of visitors to listen to the 'Last Post' being played at the Menin Gate ceremony, as it has been nearly every evening since 1927. Other highlights of the visit included the chance for the pupils to experience the actual trenches of Hill 62 and the visit to the fascinating In Flanders Field' museum housed in the Cloth Hall, Ypres. The pupils also visited the beautiful medieval city of Bruges and spent a very enjoyable day at Disneyland Paris, followed by a visit to the Eiffel Tower and a trip on the River Seine.

Another visit is planned for next year and, meanwhile, the close collaboration on joint classroom activities and field trips which the history departments of the two schools have conducted for over 20 years continues apace.

stacey.heaney@ulsterstar.co.uk

Ulster Star
15/05/2009