30 students in Year 9 have returned from a five-day trip to Normandy in France with Academy Librarian, Mr Wheatley, our Director of Learning for Languages, Miss Stephenson and History Teacher, Miss Broadbent. The trip combined opportunities for students to develop their language skills with learning about French culture and World War II history.

Students began the trip with a visit to Omaha Beach and the Normandy American Cemetery and Visitor Centre, which covers 170 acres and contains the graves of over 9,300 military personnel, most of whom lost their lives in the D-Day landings and ensuing operations. Although seen often on TV, the rows of white headstones have a much more dramatic impact when seen in person.

The group then travelled to the nearby Overlord Museum to discover the unique collection of more than 10,000 pieces, including personal effects of soldiers, tanks, vehicles and guns, and the life-size reconstructions which trace the history of the Battle of Normandy until the liberation of Paris.

The trip also included a visit to Ecole Elémentaire Fracasse, a primary school in Deauville, where students spent the day developing their French language skills by talking to pupils about their lives in the UK, and playing games on the beach where they needed to communicate the rules in French.

They also visited the Pégasus Memorial, which was originally the Caen Canal Bridge before its name was changed in 1944 as a tribute to the British troops who captured it, thus preventing a German counter-attack. Pegasus, the winged horse, was the emblem worn on the sleeves of the men of the airborne division who secured the bridge, hence the name. A visit to the D-Day Museum allowed students to immerse themselves in a chronological tour through exhibitions of uniforms, weapons and personal effects; and a trip to the amazing Arromanches 360 Cinema was an excellent way to round off the whole experience with 20 fully immersive minutes of archive film footage from WWII complete with surround sound.

Mr Wheatley, our Academy Librarian who organised the trip said, "As expected, the trip gave students the opportunity to see and experience some fantastic WWII exhibits and memorials whilst practising their French language skills, but it was also invaluable in terms of building self confidence and independence alongside a desire to embrace global travel."