A high school today unveiled a poignant display featuring the names of individual soldiers written on poppies by students. The ‘Field of Remembrance’ tribute has been created at St Mary’s Catholic School. It features poppies with the name of individual soldiers, which were chosen by students during lessons, as well as other Remembrance messages. The display also commemorates the centenary of the Royal British Legion and provided a moving backdrop to Remembrance services, which were attended by students, teachers and support staff.
Students in history lessons study Remembrance Day in the run up to the services which are held in the school each year as part of nationwide commemorations. This year they took place in the atrium at the heart of the school, with the Remembrance display on the stage as a focal point. The services featured readings and prayers led by students, with Alanis Robertson, in Year 12, reading the opening prayer. Ann Joshi, Year 12, read an extract from St Paul’s letter to the Romans and Anna Watson-McKenna and Roselin Manoj, both also in Year 12, read the bidding prayers. The school choir sang "A Flower Remembered" which was composed by John Rutter in 2011 in memory of the victims of the Tohoku areas earthquake and tsunami. Sam Foster in Year 11 played the Last Post on his trumpet during the laying of wreaths. Students who belong to groups such as the different cadet organisations and Scouts were invited to wear their uniform for the services at the school, which is part of Bishop Bewick Catholic Education Trust. They flanked the atrium as the other students arrived for their service and then took part in the service itself through the lowering of flags and laying of wreaths. All students took an active part in the service through responses to prayers and observing the two-minute silence. In the run-up to Remembrance Day, there had also been a focus in all year group assemblies on remembering all of those who sacrificed so much in the First World War and more recent conflicts, including peoples of different nationalities, languages and faiths. Every year poppies are sold for the Royal British Legion as one of the school’s key fundraising activities, with students taking the poppies round tutor groups in the morning. Emma Patterson, headteacher of St Mary’s Catholic School, said: “We feel it is very important for our students and staff team to come together as a school community each year to commemorate and remember the sacrifices made for our freedoms today. “It is a chance for us to honour and respect those who are no longer with us and to reflect on the human cost of war, from the First World War through to more recent conflicts. “Some of our students also have ancestors who died in the First and Second World Wars, as well as family members who are currently serving in the armed forces or experiencing conflict around the world and therefore, it also gives us an opportunity to remember those close to us in our thoughts and prayers. “Our students are a wonderful group of young adults and they demonstrate such reverence and respect when partaking in our Remembrance Services and other Remembrance activities in school. “They are a credit to our school and to their families. Finally, it is a chance for our students to learn from the past and to pray and hope for a more peaceful future.”
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