Year 11 Belgium Trip
After the meticulous planning of the Belgium Trip by our teachers and many months of waiting for the journey, the time had come! On the 22nd of October at 5am sharp (for the majority), we made our way to school, incredibly tired as the sheer excitement had kept us awake all night. It felt strange being at school so early and seeing faces we normally wouldn’t expect to see at such a time, but this didn’t matter as we were about to go on an amazing trip abroad surrounded by our best friends and some of our favourite teachers.
We all handed our baggage in and boarded the coach, extremely optimistic for the trip ahead. The drive to the port of Dover was very tedious, but we soon got over it and were singing songs. I’d like to tell you the teachers joined in, but this would be far from the truth as they didn’t seem to have any interest in our music. After a quick stop at a service station, where we all paid extortionate prices for usually cheap snacks, we set off, edging closer and closer to Dover. A couple of hours later, we arrived at the port of Dover and boarded the ferry. The crossing went by quickly, particularly because we were having the time of our lives on the deck, taking copious amounts of photographs and having a generally great time. Time really does fly when you’re having fun (or I guess you could say it sails).
Soon enough, we had arrived at Calais and spirits were higher than ever. We were only an hour away from the hotel and this final leg of the journey went by very quickly. We buzzed with enthusiasm admiring the beautiful countryside and we soon arrived at the Oude Abdij Hotel in Lo, a small town near Ypres. We checked into the hotel, went through some ground rules and were given downtime due to our very busy schedule the next day. After playing table tennis, watching Villa win (again) and spending some time in our rooms, it was 10:30pm and time for lights out. I would absolutely love to claim that we all slept instantly considering our extensive journey but this was certainly not the case. But what more can you expect from a huge group of hyperactive sixteen-year-olds!
After a sleep that felt more like a nap, we were up at 7am sharp preparing for the day ahead. By 9am, we had eaten breakfast, showered and put on fresh clothes. We made our way to the Langemark Cemetery, a site for German soldiers who lost their lives in the Great War. It was incredibly eerie being at a place where thousands of men who had died for their country were laid at rest. We then made our way to the Tyne Cot Cemetery, where almost 12,000 Commonwealth soldiers are buried or commemorated; for those who remain unidentified to this day, it is heartbreaking as their families cannot even receive some closure on the deaths of their loved ones.
Next up was the Passchendaele Memorial Museum which had many exhibits of militaria and re-creations of trenches and dugouts used in the war so we could see a visual representation of what the soldiers went through, at least marginally. Let me tell you, the conditions were not very pleasant at all. After this, we visited Talbot House in Poperinge to experience a sense of the homely and good-natured atmosphere that the soldiers would have enjoyed when away from the trenches. We played the piano, had games of chess, drank some tea and explored the beautiful garden. We then returned to our hotel for a quick dinner before once again boarding the coach and making our way to a bowling alley where we all had a blast. This was a great way to round off a rather emotional day.
On the third day, we woke up quite sad as it would be our last full day. After breakfast, we set off to Hill 60, a site where a bomb weighing over 30 tons had been dropped (over 10x the weight of the 40 students and 4 teachers in attendance). It had left a humongous crater in the ground which looked somewhat beautiful in the landscape. It was surreal yet upsetting walking around there knowing that around 100 years ago, thousands had lost their lives where we were standing. We then made our way to the burial site of a former student of ours and this was incredibly sad for us all. The realisation that 100 years ago, we could’ve been that student who had left his life behind and gone to serve his country, and that it was only time that separated us. We then visited a couple more burial sites and memorials, one of them being for Commonwealth soldiers of South Asian descent who had tragically lost their lives fighting for the British Empire.
Soon enough, we had finished visiting the sites for that day and we made our way to the centre of Ypres for some well-needed free time where we could explore the city. Some of us spent time talking to locals and making some new friends whilst trying the best burgers and waffles in Ypres; others trekked around the city to spectacle at its breathtaking architecture. This was fun and helped us eliminate the sombre mood in the air. We then returned to the hotel and had dinner before making our way to the Menin Gate Ceremony in Ypres which has been conducted each night for the past 96 years without fail (apart from during WW2). Every night, the Last Post is played at 8pm for fallen soldiers who have not ever received a proper burial. We then visited the bowling alley once again before returning to the hotel for some vital rest.
The fourth and final day arrived and we were all heartbroken knowing that this would be our last day, but we shook the sadness off and entered the day with some optimism. We made our way to the larger city of Bruges and enjoyed a canal ride during which we were enlightened on the history of the city by a very enthusiastic guide. After this, we had a couple of hours of free time; we just had to try the world-famous Belgian chocolate and, let me tell you, it did not disappoint! Our free time flew by and it was soon time to return to the coach. We caught final glimpses of the captivating landscape of Belgium as we headed back home. We made our way to Calais and boarded the ferry where the realisation that the trip was coming to an end hit us all. Regardless, we stayed happy and made sure not to waste our final moments. Soon, we were off the ferry and back on British soil. We had accepted that the trip was over, and we were trying to make the most of it.
We had a quick stop at Warwick Services and, after getting back on the coach, we were told our ETA and alerted our parents as to when we would be arriving. As we entered Birmingham, the mood went from bittersweet to pure joy as we were blessed with some great music by the absolute legend controlling the speaker. This time even the teachers couldn’t help but join in and, as we finally arrived at school, we all had huge grins on our faces and couldn’t be happier. It was a great way to end what was a trip filled with a lot of emotions.
A huge thank you and shoutout to our brilliant teachers who spent countless hours preparing this trip for us. We all had a wonderful time spent together, taking a substantial number of photographs to capture the memories. However, we were all gutted that it had to come to an end but, as the great Dr Seuss once (may have) said, “Don’t cry that it’s over, smile because it happened.”
Adnan W (11G) and Daniel A (11N)
