Youngsters had some help to bring their studies of the First World War to life when they visited Ypres.

Some 26 Year 9 pupils from King Harold Academy in Waltham Abbey visited the battlefields and war graves in and around the Belgian town as part of a history trip.

The school visited the German cemetery, Langemark, and Tyne Cot, the biggest British cemetery in Belgium, where the students could see the registers to find names of possible relatives.

The party also visited Passchendaele to experience real-life dug outs and the claustrophobia of a trench.

The students were able to walk through and experience part of what it might have felt like to fight in the war.

The final part of the day was to take part in the Menin Gate Last Post ceremony in Ypres.

Kacey Ashley and Freddie Pearson were invited to lay a wreath on behalf of King Harold Academy with English teacher Stuart Springthorpe.

The following day the group visited two more military cemeteries where the students explored the graves of many different nationalities and races of the soldiers who fought and died during the First World War.

The last stop-off was a visit to the Hooge Crater museum where many artefacts were to be found.