A TRIO of Coventry pupils have been congratulated by the House of Lords for their efforts in helping others learn about the First World War.
Kristina Lidder, Joanne Rodrigues and James Hunter from Cardinal Newman Catholic School were recognised at a Ministerial ceremony for creating a Peace Prayer Garden in the grounds of their Keresley-based school.
The group, aged 15 and 16 years old, were inspired to create the permanent memorial to past conflicts after taking part in a Government funded trip to the battlefields of the First World War.
They also took part in the Legacy 110 project which sets each pupil on the trip the target of sharing what they had learned from the tour with at least 110 people – a target which they met through the creation of the garden.
Explaining the idea behind the Peace Prayer Garden, Kristina, Joanne and James said: “We were inspired by events and consequences of the First World War – in particular the personal loss – to create an area within school which could be accessed by our fellow students and members of the local community to remember those close to them who are no longer with us.”
The trip, was part of the Battlefields Tours Programme which allows every state secondary school the opportunity to send two pupils and a teacher to places like the Somme and Neuve Chapelle.
The £5.3 million Programme, which is jointly funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Education, aims to reach 880,000 people through the Legacy 110 project – the same number of British and Commonwealth soldiers that died during the war.
Commending the students on their efforts, Communities Minister, Baroness Williams said: “People of all backgrounds and faiths fought for Britain during the war.
“Now pupils from every school across the country will see at first hand the enormous sacrifice that they made for our country.
“The First World War is as important today as it was a century ago and the pupils from the Cardinal Newman Catholic School, who took part in the scheme, are vital to keeping all of our shared history alive for the next generation.”
