Educational Trip To Ypres For International Schools

This outstanding museum aims to preserve our connection with World War I through character-led experience and the story of the land. Exhibitions blend interactive installations with relics allowing students to explore history on a peer-related level. A permanent exhibit traces the invasion of Belgium with educational programmes to delve deeper into the war past.

This moving tribute to the courage and sacrifice of those who fell defending their town is an imperative experience for students connecting with WWI. Each night at 8pm the traffic stops around the Menin Gate memorial – six buglers from the fire brigade play the Last Post, Reveille and silence is upheld.

Essex Farm was the site of an Advanced Dressing Station (ADS) and the land was appropriated as burial ground from October 1914 (First Battle of Ypres). Because of the nature of the medical outpost, very few burials are unidentified, although the cemetery layout tells of the unpredictable wave of life and death at the ADS. Original bunkers and shelters remain. Photo © R/DV/RS.

The slopes of Hill 62 were part of the front line in 1915. The museum at Sanctuary Wood is one of few sites on the Ypres Salient battlefields where an original trench layout can be seen, relatively unchanged since the war. Most farmers returning to their plots would plough over the scarred land, but here sections of the system were left intact. Photo © Amanda Slater.

This is the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world with around 11,954 soldiers resting here. The British Army captured the ridge where it is set in 1917, with a German blockhouse turned into an Advanced Dressing Station thus necessitating the burial ground.

Tip: There are 8,367 unidentified graves at Tyne Cot, the headstones inscribed ‘Known Unto God’.

There are only four WWI German cemeteries in Flanders – the first German gas attacks happened in Langemark 1915 and over 44,000 soldiers are buried here. After the battle of France in 1940, troops withdrew to Dunkirk and Calais over these battlegrounds of World War I. Some casualties of 1940 are buried side by side with soldiers who fell not 30 years previous. Photo © Nick Townsend.

This town in the Flemish Region of West Flanders has a medieval history and is famous for its hops and lace production. Known as ‘Pops’ to the British soldiers in the First World War it was the gateway to the battlefields of the northern Ypres Salient for thousands of British troops. Photo © Bernt Rostad.

Tip: Talbot House was established as a club in 1915 for British soldiers and is now a fascinating museum.

This British trench wasn’t discovered until 1992 by a group of archaeologists who went on to excavate tunnelled dugouts and soldier remains. One of the few sites with original trenches on the Ypres Salient, the location exhibits very narrow networks with recreated fire steps and loopholes. Students can get a real sense of the space the soldiers occupied.

Discover the world of chocolate at Chocolaterie Ledoux where the finest quality cocoa is transformed into delicious products according to traditional methods. A guided tour and taster session will give you more information on the production process of chocolate bonbons and chocolate figures. Prepare for a fun and relaxing hour full of everything that chocolate has to offer.

With landscaped gardens and an ancient castle, Belgium’s oldest theme park is home to wildlife from big cats to capybaras, as well as thrilling rides such as the Screaming Eagle vertical drop tower. Water rides include the Niagara, which careers down the highest waterfall in Europe.

Tip: The Boomerang roller coaster travels at over 80km per hour.