College students join combined Europe tour

Brisbane Water Secondary College Woy Woy students have participated in the Combined Schools Europe Tour.

In April, 46 students from BWSC joined students from Kincumber High School, Tuggerah Lakes Secondary College and Callaghan College for a whirlwind history tour of Europe.

The students returned from abroad in the first week of May.

College Year 10 history coordinator Ms Heather Brown was tour facilitator.

"To deepen their understanding of the culture and history of Europe, as well as Australia's presence there, students found themselves in Italy, Germany, Belgium, France and England," Ms Brown said.

"The trip started out in Rome, seeing the incredible remnants of the Roman Empire, the Trevi fountain, the Vatican and the war memorial.

"Students were all shocked by the sheer size and age of the city.

"All were given an experience in the city that photos in a textbook could never hope to provide," Ms Brown said.

"After Rome, the tour took itself by train to Naples and Sorrento, a beautiful town on the Italian coast covered in citrus plants.

"The key element of this part of the visit was the visits to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Mount Vesuvius.

"This again brought students closer to Roman history than ever before as these cities are the best preserved example of a roman city.

"Then was the short flight to Munich where the tour spent one night.

"In Munich the group had a meal in the city and then a walking tour of the city.

"The next day students went to Dachau, the first concentration camp of the Nazi Regime.

"It served as a prototype for later camps and was set up as a labour camp primarily.

"This seemed to resonate through all the students, humbling them all and providing a feeling which never leave them," Ms Brown continued.

"This was then followed by Neuschwanstein, the castle which inspired Walt Disney for his own trademark castle.

"Then came Nuremberg, and with it, the Justice Palace, where Nazi war criminals were tried, the Zeppelin fields, where the Nazis would gather to hear Hitler talk and the unfinished Nazi congress Hall.

"After Germany, the tour went along the significant battle and memorial sites of the western front from Paris to Ypres.

"First being Villers Bretonneux in France, this town holds Australia in such high regard that the local primary school still sings the Australian National Anthem weekly and more Australian flags are flown throughout the town than French ones.

"Then in Belgium leaders from the four schools, along with the tour leader, Mr Roger Macey, took part in a last post ceremony at The Menin Gate.

"The memorial arch in Ypres that bears the names of 52,000 missing Allied soldiers of World War One.

"The students then went to Passchendaele and took part in an experience that would bring them closer than ever before to the ANZAC soldiers, The Platoon Experience.

"Many of them said that nothing has made them more appreciative of the Anzacs' sacrifice.

"Anzac Day was spent at the Polygon Wood Battlefield and Memorial for a dawn service.

"At this service, the same leaders again laid down the wreath on behalf of the four schools," Ms Brown said.

"From Ypres the tour continued on to Paris for the afternoon and evening, seeing the famous Eiffel Tower.

"The next day consisted of a visit to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, a climb up the Arc de Triomphe. "Then a visit to the Pere Lachaise cemetery and Notre Dame Cathedral.

"The first afternoon in London was spent observing the wonders within the British Museum.

"The next day students visited the Tower of London, the Churchill War Rooms, Camden Markets and Buckingham Palace.

"Westminster Abbey, The London Eye and a West End Musical (School of Rock) took up the last day of the tour and then the troop was home," she said.

"This trip was perhaps the most valuable experience of all of their young lives.

"Every single moment was spent in reflection of their way of life that was given to them by the sacrifice of others.

"The education that was given to them provided such an incredible perspective on the world and given them lessons beyond anything they could obtain from the confines of the classroom," Ms Brown said.

SOURCE:

Media release, 7 Jun 2018

Heather Brown, BWSC Woy Woy