Over 5000 students and 700 staff pay their respects on Remembrance Day

By Jill Dando News

Over 5000 students and 700 staff in six schools of The Priory Learning Trust have been paying their respects on Remembrance Day

The schools across Weston-super-Mare, Highbridge in Burnham and other parts of Somerset all held a two minute silence to remember the war dead.

Worle Community School Academy, Priory Community School Academy, The King Alfred School Academy, St Anne’s Church Academy, Castle Batch School Academy and Pawlett Primary School Academy all paid their respects.

Lily, 13, at Worle Community School Academy, conducted a YouTube performance of the Last Post that was viewed by every student and staff member in their classrooms. She later appeared on BBC TV Points West to play her Trumpet.

The King Alfred School Academy conducted an open air socially distanced ceremony where students spoke out the name of every Burnham and Highbridge resident who had died in the wars. Priory Community School Academy also had an outside ceremony.

There were a large number of touching tributes made by pupils across the primary schools.

Year 2 pupils at  St Anne’s Church Academy wore their Rainbow costumes to honour the war dead. They heard from Rev. Matthew how British soldiers surrendered at Arnhem singing Abide with Me and listened to the special words in the song.

Neville Coles, CEO of TPLT, said: “The tributes for Remembrance Day were very powerful.

“They were marked by every student and staff member across our schools. We will never forget those who laid down their lives.”

Remembrance Day is always marked on November 11 and is a memorial to remember those members of the armed forces who have fought and died in the line of duty.

The tradition was first started by King George V in 1919 to mark the end of World War 1, with hostilities formally ended “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month”, in accordance with the armistice.