As a result of a generous donation from a member, the Western Front Association is able to support a number of special projects. This is one of them. Oak Grove College is a special school in Sussex providing education for students with learning difficulties from Year 7 to Year 14. Their teacher writes:
On behalf of Oak Grove College, I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks for your generous financial contribution towards our recent trip to Ypres in July 2025. Your support played a crucial role in making this enriching experience possible for our young people.
We are delighted to share with you a report of the trip, highlighting some of the memorable moments, the positive impacts it has had on our young people and their families, and our plans moving forward.
Aims of the Trip
The aim of our trip to Ypres, taking in key battlefield sites, cemeteries, and Menin Gate, was to provide a powerful, meaningful, and enriching learning experience that extended far beyond the classroom. We wanted to deepen our young people’s knowledge and understanding of World War I and inspire them in their personal interests in history and support their future accreditations. In addition to this, our commitment to providing opportunities for our young people to flourish socially, emotionally, and independently was at the forefront of this trip. Our school is situated in a disadvantaged area and many of our young people do not have opportunities to embark on these experiences. The potential for developing life skills – travel training, money management, communication, socialising, ordering food, personal care -, self-confidence and self-esteem, emotional regulation and well-being, cultural capital, and independence are invaluable skills that are ingrained in the work we do at Oak Grove College. This trip was a perfect opportunity to promote and celebrate what we strive to achieve with our young people and their families.
Fundraising
To ensure the trip remained accessible for all young people it was important it remained free of charge to families. Our Chair of Governors approached several historical organisations to enquire into whether they would be able to assist, and we were immensely grateful to The Western Front Association for their generous support. Alongside this contribution, we asked families to undertake fundraising activities and our college charity, Friends of Oak Grove, to generate the remaining funds.
Impact of the Trip
The impact of this trip is captured brilliantly and honestly from the feedback provided by parents/carers and the young people involved. From our point of view, it was a privilege to spend time with such an amazing group of young people and watch as they immersed themselves in the rich history of Ypres, manage the challenges of travelling (being awake from 2am and for nearly 20 hours on our first day!), and working empathetically, confidently, collaboratively together. For some of the young people it was their first time leaving the country and for most it was their first time being away from their families, home comforts, and established routines. This was a significant milestone for the young people and their families and a reflection that has been shared with us many times since the trip.
The accommodation, Peace Village, was an apt setting for us to rest, recuperate, and feel part of an international social and cultural community. The hostel provided a safe and social experience for our young people where they were able to ‘live’ amongst young people from other countries embarking on the same experience. The ethos of peace and community present at the hostel was a key message throughout our trip and something that we promote daily in school.
A colleague from West Sussex Local Authority (the Assistant Director for Education) accompanied us on the trip. She has a background of 20-years experience in the military and provided excellent insights at each site we visited. Her involvement also helped her to understand how significant a trip like this can be for young people at our school.
Feedback from Parents/Carers
This trip has had a significant impact on parents/carers, young people, the staff, and the wider school community. It has started conversations amongst the wider staff team about trips they would like to plan for the young people at Oak Grove College and the wider student community have been asking about future opportunities to be included on a future trip to Ypres.
Parents/carers provided feedback to us detailing the following:
- All were ‘very satisfied’ with the trip.
- All thought the trip provided ‘excellent’ educational benefits.
- All would recommend the trip to other families.
- All felt their young person’s self-esteem and confidence had been impacted in a positive way.
Parents/carers provided us with some powerful feedback too:
“It’s silly, as it was only one night, but he literally seems to have grown as a person. I don’t mean physically, but just in how he talks and how he behaves.”
“Couldn't fault the organisation and communication throughout. Knew my son was in safe hands and was lovely knowing what he was doing at any one time. An amazing experience for them, which my son thoroughly enjoyed. He remembered things he had seen and was told and relayed this back to us. He said he had such a good time”.
“Our son loved this trip. He loved the independence of being away from us, he loved being with his best friend and he was really keen to show us the photos he had taken of the places he saw and the experiences he had. This was an excellent opportunity for him and he (and we) were very grateful!”
“My son thoroughly enjoyed this trip, your reassurance, prep and communication much reduced his anxieties, and I felt confident handing him over to you. I am enormously grateful to all involved in this trip, those on the 'frontline' dealing with medication, food and toileting etc, as well as those that supported with funding, admin and the behind-the-scenes aspects. Thank you all. A boost to his self-confidence and what an experience. He is slowly over time reflecting on different aspects and you provided him with an experience to remember. He did an audio recording at Menin Gate which clearly moved him. Thank you all.”
“Thank you for giving our daughter the opportunity to attend the trip, she enjoyed it so much and it is very important to her as her dad is an officer in the British army.”
Feedback from Students
Young people provided feedback to us detailing the following:
- All enjoyed the trip.
- Students enjoyed visiting the battlefields, especially the trenches, as well as the cemeteries.
- All students would recommend this trip to their peers.
Young people provided us with some powerful feedback too:
“I was a bit worried about it at first, but it was fine. It was a really good trip, and I enjoyed it. All the teachers were very helpful. I've got loads of nice memories and it was funny when I saw a frog in the trenches.”
“I liked visiting the trenches.”
“Peaceful and fun! It was nice being away for a night with my best friend. It was fun doing something new.”
“It was great to make my own choices. I liked basketball area at the hostel as well.”
Next Steps
- We plan to incorporate the experiences on this trip into our Remembrance Day service at school.
- We plan to use this experience to continue teaching WW1 to our KS4 students in order to support them gaining an accreditation before transitioning to college.
- We plan to run a second trip to Ypres in July 2027.
Thank you once again for this making this opportunity possible.
Tyler Gee
Trip Leader – Ypres 2025