The Somme remains a landmark in British History. On this day tour we examine the course of the battle and examine trench warfare in 1916.
This one day battlefield tour examines aspects of the war across The Somme, and rather than spend a day rushing round locations we visit select areas, spend time there, and use them to retell the story of the Great War and the experience of front line soldiers.
KS3 National Curriculum - The First World War and the Peace Settlement
AQA GCSE Syllabus - Period Study- Germany, 1890-1945: Democracy and dictatorship
AQA GCSE Syllabus - Wider World Depth Study- Conflict and Tension: The First World War, 1894-1918
EdExcel GCSE Syllabus - Thematic Study- Medicine in Britain: The British Sector of the Western Front, 1914-18: Injuries, treatment and the trenches
OCR GCSE Syllabus - The British Depth Study-Britain in Peace and War, 1900-1918
AQA A-level Syllabus - Challenge and transformation: Britain c1851-1964. The World Wars and their legacies : Britain,1914-1964. The Great War and its impact, 1914-1939
Specialist Battlefield Guide. For larger groups we have two guides per booking.
Tour pack of information and resources to use in the classroom.
Travel by coach from your school.
Channel crossings.
This is a tour that can be completed in a day trip from any location in the South-East of England within 2-3 hours of the Channel Tunnel.
After an early morning departure from the school, we proceed to the Channel Tunnel and travel to France.
We then drive down into northern France and start at the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing. Here we visit the new museum, look at the Memorialisation of the First World War, and the subject of missing soldiers in WW1.
We then visit the Ulster Tower to look at one of the battlefields fought over on the First Day of the Battle of the Somme. Here we also go into Thiepval Wood and see trenches and positions uncovered by a team of archaeologists and have the opportunity to safely handle artefacts.
In the battlefield cemeteries here we look at the commemoration of the dead and the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and, on the high ground above the Ancre Valley, look at landscape and memory, and the importance of high ground on a battlefield.
We also look at war poetry in WW1 discussing the poets who fought on this part of the Somme battlefield.
We end the day at the Lochnagar Mine Crater at La Boisselle to examine the ‘war underground’ and mine warfare on the Western Front in WW1.
We will then begin our return home via the Channel Tunnel, with arrival back at the school expected in the late evening.
Lochnagar Mine Crater
Thiepval Cemeteries
Thiepval Trenches
Thiepval Memorial
Thiepval Museum
If you would like more information or would like to customise this tour to suit your needs, get in touch today.
Each of our tours are tailor made to suit your school’s specific requirements.
Our team of experienced specialist guides are both passionate and knowledgeable.
Our tours are carefully designed to meet the aims of the National Curriculum.
You can rest assured that your school trips are safe and financially secured.
