Apr 25, 2018 - Mollie & Mia visit the battlefields. Two of our Year 10 pupils were selected to visit the site of the
Issue 25 - April 18
Message from Mr Mellen
Mollie & Mia visit the battlefields in France & Belgium
It seems like much longer than one week since we returned from the Easter Break. I suppose it feels that way because we pack a lot into a week at Cedar Mount! Our aim is always to offer the best quality educational experiences for all students and hopefully you would agree that we succeed most of the time. It was great to see so many parents and students in school yesterday for the Year 9 Progress Evening. Education is a partnership between school and home and it is vital that parents are well informed about the progress of their children and how they can support them. Good luck to Mr Lewis who is running the London Marathon this Sunday. I look forward to seeing a lot of Year students tomorrow as I will be in as part of the teaching team delivering English and Maths revision sessions. Have a great weekend and enjoy the sunshine! Mr Mellen
@ CedarMountHigh
Mollie & Mia visit the battlefields Two of our Year 10 pupils were selected to visit the site of the Battle of Manchester Hill, which happened exactly 100 years ago. Whilst there they kept a diary of their time in France and Belgium which had a profound effect on them. Here’s an extract from their diary in their own words. A trip that in all honesty changed my views on life! After the amazing stories and places we visited during the first part of our stay day 3 began with a trip to the fields where The Battle of Somme took place, the day was not too sunny, but surprisingly not too cold either. As it was quite a long drive we were provided with reading material and watched video and movie clips to give us a better understanding of what our soldiers experienced. I love history and was blown away when I understood I was going to the visit a place I’d learned so much about in history (especially as it was such a major event and still talked about) WW1 fascinates me, it’s one of those things you are grateful for not being a part of but the more you know the more it helps you look at life in a different perspective and open your mind. When we arrived the smiles disappeared from our faces, here I was standing on the field where one of the bloodiest battles of World War One took place, the silence was deafening and no one knew how to react, walking on the marked path we were instructed not to touch anything or veer off. It was here I began to understand how dangerous the battlefield was, I was devastated when the guides told us not to disturb the grass and nature or take anything because this is where the remains of unidentified soldiers were buried, how sad their families will never truly know where they lay, it felt eerie looking over empty field with outgrown trenches and metal wires poking out. Our journey continued to a lovely dining place “Avril’s tea room" where we had the pleasure of tasting traditional French soup and a baguette, after lunch we were brought back to reality as the next part of our journey took us to Sunken Lane, for some reason I became very emotional as the enormity of how many young soldiers not much older than me died. It was strange looking at actual photographs of young boys looking happy and excited to be fighting for their country….if only they knew what lay ahead of them. The one thing all the schools on the pilgrimage had in common was that we were standing in the same place as they were right before the attack, at this stage we walked the fields and told to stop when our school name was called out, within a couple of minutes each school was inches from each other, this is exactly what it would have been like for the soldiers who died that day, within hours they were dead – gone – and became a ‘number’ in terms of casualties. At this stage I felt as if my heart was going to break, the guides explained how the Germans had planned it to happen and that the British soldiers had no chance of survival, this is the unwanted truth about the war – It’s lethal, quick and unpredictable. In the afternoon we visited Mametz wood which has a special place in my heart because of my favourite poem by Owen Sheers of the same name. After an emotional day it was great to arrive back at the hotel where a tasty dinner awaited us and climb into bed. The final leg of our journey was a day of commemorating and paying respect to the men of the Manchester Regiment who fought in the ‘Manchester Hill Battle’ so we dressed in school uniform, the formal event was attended by pupils from schools across Manchester where two students would be given the opportunity to lay a wreath. When we arrived our guide explained that during the fighting that day soldiers weren’t able to see further than 5 meters and found it difficult to navigate themselves across the field, the smoke was so thick from gunfire it affected their breathing, I tried to imagine what they must have experienced.
After the visit to the “Manchester Hill battlefield, we headed to a formal reception in town hosted by the Mayor. It was held in a church with French and British vicars, soldiers and singers, everyone came together to listen to poems, songs and anecdotes which culminated in the laying of the wreath. The day ended with a speech from the Mayor at a reception. I cannot express what a privilege it was to travel to France 100 years on from the war, I will remember it for being a unique and incredible lifetime experience. Mia Y10 We departed for the trip in Belgium on the 18th March with a very long trip ahead of us. It took several hours before we arrived but the worst part was getting stuck at the Eurotunnel for 4 hours because we missed the train we were supposed to take! We had a mini workshop inside the terminal which guided us through the many activities we were due to complete in the upcoming days. It is fair to say that all the student including myself and Mia were very excited! We finally arrived at the hotel at midnight and more than ready to get to bed. The highlight of my second day was when I was chosen out of all the students on the coach to lay a wreath at a memorial that payed respect to 55 000 men who died in WW1. I was immensely nervous as there were students from my coach watching and hundreds of tourists and television crews from across the UK! I’m very proud I represented Cedar Mount in such an incredible day and I know for sure that I will never forget it. During the memorial sights containing thousands of unmarked graves I found myself becoming very emotional and moved, never the less it was an amazing experience to have been a part of and I will remember it as one of the most inspiring trips during my time at school and one to tell my children . Molly Y10
