Further details have been released about plans to provide “student ambassadors” from schools in England and Wales the opportunity to visit First World War battlefields to mark the Centenary.
The Education Secretary, Michael Gove, emphasised that it was important that “a new generation should be encouraged to remember the sacrifice of so many”, as “the First Word War touched every village and town in Britain… The loss to this country and to countless families was unimaginable and must not be forgotten”.
The educational programme was announced on the 10th June 2013, as the British Government revealed its plans to mark the Centenary of the conflict at a press conference in London.
The £5.3 million project will be delivered by the Institute of Education and STS School Travel Service, and funded jointly by Department for Education and the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The project will provide the opportunity for two children from every state school in England and Wales to visit battlefields on the Western Front from spring 2014 until March 2019.
The visits will allow pupils “to undertake research on people local to their school who fought in the First World War. Providing an enduring legacy, the high quality educational project will strengthen participants’ knowledge of the First World War, and give opportunities to develop related projects in their local communities”.
Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, stated that: “We have a duty to educate future generations about the First World War to ensure that the role our Armed Forces played, and continue to play, in defending the liberties we take for granted today are remembered”.
Source: Inside Government UK website
Date of press release publication: 10/06/2013
Images courtesy of the Inside Government UK website
Posted by: Daniel Barry, Centenary News