School Life

No two children learn alike, however all will forever hold close memories and knowledge gained from an unforgettable event or experience. Private and independent schools across Canada are leading the way in providing students with such opportunities.

Every March break for the past five years, students and faculty from St. Andrew's College have travelled to France and Belgium to go back in time, to walk the battlefields where soldiers fought, to tour the Canadian European battlefields of World War I and World War II.

Grade 10 and 11 students return from the trip and quickly spread the word about the unique opportunities and areas visited: the tunnel and trench systems of Sanctuary Woods and Vimy battlefield; the Menin Gate; an archaeological dig on WWI Canadian and German trenches; the battlefield of Le Mesnil Patry with commentary by a host who was there as a boy; and a personal tour of Bernière-sur-Mer given by the current mayor.

"This is a very emotional trip for our students," explains David Stewart, head of the school's history department. "I remember watching the boys stroll among the graves at Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery in Normandy, where 2,000 Canadians were buried. Each grave is adorned with a maple leaf. Some boys stopped and shook their heads; others held their heads in their hands and wept."

Graham Hynds, now a Grade 12 student, remembers being invited to play the lament on bagpipe at a service in Ypres in front of 2,000 people. "I played not for the people around me, but for the thousands and thousands of soldiers who died and will never be found. It was an honour to play for those men."

Link line: Making students proud of Canada's history -- St. Andrew's College