On Friday 4^th October 2019 a group of pupils and staff took part in a ‘Trench Experience’ which saw them spending part of the night in our replica First World War trench.  We started the evening looking at artefacts with a talk about life in the trenches of the First World War which provoked lots of questions and discussion.  Thankfully the rain held off and we made our way out to the trench where we had further discussions and also looked at some sources, letters and poems from the time.  The pupils were encouraged to use their empathy skills to consider how people at the time would have felt about serving in the trenches.  After a ‘sing song’ of songs from the period we had a supper of corned beef, bread, jam and mugs of tea, typical food from the time and we even got to try ‘hard tack’ biscuits.  After spending some more of the night experiencing the damp, cold and darkness of our Fitzalan trench we made our way back into the school building where we were able to sleep in the dry and warmth, something the soldiers of the First World War didn’t get to do.  Pupils shared that the experience had given them a much better understanding of the experiences of the soldiers of the First World War and the sacrifices they made.  Whilst it was a poignant and thought provoking night, we also had fun and laughter as we endured the conditions together.  Well done to everyone who braved the Trench Experience, thank you to the staff that gave up their time to make it possible and also thank you to those that raised money for charity.