On Sunday 20^th May, 9 of our students from S2-6 travelled to Ullapool to visit some incredible recreated World War I trenches. Accompanied by Miss Morrison and Miss Eslick, students travelled 3 hours by minibus – many of us felt the scenery on the drive alone had made the trip worthwhile!

The purpose of the trip was to view the incredible work undertaken by Ullapool High School students. Under the direction of their History teacher, Ms. Middleton, students worked on recreating one British and one German trench with a stretch of No Man’s Land between. They included many different features of the trenches including firing steps, dug outs, casualty clearing hospitals and the mess where soldiers could get some food.

On our arrival, we were able to get a private run through the trenches as we were the first to arrive. Students were able to try on World War I uniforms and handle a 1917 Lee Enfield rifle and bayonet. Following our tour, students were given different worksheets to help them find out more about the trenches. They first did a selfie challenge where they were given a list of trench features they had to get a selfie with. They then had to use the information boards throughout the trenches to complete some fact finding tasks, before sitting down to consider what life in the trenches would have been like for British soldiers.

Later in the day, students were treated to a barbecue lunch and some homemade treats including traditional Anzac biscuits, which were given to Australian and New Zealand soldiers in their ration packs. We were also lucky enough to be given a special commemorative tin from the students of Ullapool High School and the Ullapool Brownies, which contained a range of traditional trench ration pack items including trench cake and chocolate.

Our students were an absolute credit to Wick High School and have gained further valuable information which will help them in their future studies if they select National History. As we had been able to attend the community open day, we were also able to see some wonderful local Highland dancers, and although we were unable to stay, the community later hosted a recreation of the Christmas Truce football match in No Man’s Land between the trenches, and held a special remembrance ceremony. The trenches are available for school visits for the next month before they are filled in once more. If your school or community group are interested in visiting, you can contact Jemma Middleton at Ullapool High School for more information.