Two teenagers are getting set to travel across the Channel to learn about the lives of boys little older than they are now during the First World War.

Norlington Boys School pupils Muadh Abdulghaffar, 14, and Ali Keiali, 15, will leave England on Friday in a trip that has been paid for by the government to teach young people about the Great War.

The duo was chosen after their keen interest and effort with work in history was recognised by their teacher Sherrille Hyatt.

Mrs Hyatt said that the school in Norlington Road, Leyton, places great importance on learning about the Great War.

She said: “We recently took a group of boys from years seven to ten.

“I think it is very important for them to see it for themselves. You cannot explain the stark reality of seeing hundreds of thousands of graves in a row.

“We are going to be visiting cemeteries and museums. They will be able to see the contrast between the burial grounds of the British and Germans.”

Year nine pupil Muadh Abdulghaffar said that he is looking forward to being able to see where the battles were fought.

He said: “It’s really hard to imagine the size of the graveyards.

“I went to Downsell Primary School and there is a boy that went there who died in one of the battles, we found it when we were researching it.

Ali Keiali who is in Year 10 says that he is looking forward to learning more.

He said: “I am really interested in learning more about how so many people from different ethnicities fought together against the Germans.

“I think it is important for us to learn about the wars, to see how much we have progressed since then.”

The boys will leave with their teacher on Friday and head for Ypres before touring battlegrounds and return on Monday.