10, September 2014: A number of school tours to World War I burial grounds have been helping British students achieve a better understanding of their heritage and of the way in which the first of the two major conflicts of the 20th century affected their forbears. 

These school tours, being held in celebration of the centennial of World War I, are being offered by several school travel services across the British Isles, chief among them being Equity School Tours. Through them, pupils from schools across the United Kingdom are taken to gravesites and battlefields in France and Germany where British soldiers have fought or lost their lives, the better to understand how this conflict affected the population of their home country. By taking stock of the locations and gravestones first hand, these students are able to become more aware of their heritage and of the way in which World War I helped mould European history in the 20th century. 

Thus far, these initiatives seem to be serving their purpose, as feedback from most of the students who embark on them is overwhelmingly positive. Pupils who visit these sites in Germany and France understand and appreciate the purpose of these trips, and come away with not only a better academic knowledge, but also a degree of socio-cultural intake. 

A good example of this was the tour a group of Redditch primary-school pupils recently took to a number of cemeteries, memorial sites and battlegrounds in France and Belgium. In what was a touching moment, the young schoolchildren spotted the graveyard of a man who had lived in their village in Worcestershire, and been distantly related to one of the children in the class. The young age of many of the soldiers fallen in these locations (reflected on the headstones) also left an impression on the children participating in the school tours. 

About Equity School Travel: 

Equity School Travel offers educational trips worldwide, with a wide variety of subject matters. Find them at www.equity.co.uk 

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