“On behalf of Foreland Fields School; thank you to the CFA for such an amazing and unforgettable week.
The powerful film, especially in context of the awful things that are happening across the world, captures the reason why the Global Peace Games (GPGs) is essential for young people and creating peace makers for the future. To know that some of the participants have gone through wars is very sobering.
Foreland Fields participants clearly enjoyed every day and made some great friends. Our pupils have benefitted enormously from experiencing the GPGs.
All Foreland Fields Staff felt a tremendous learning curve between play and history. We can not thank the Children’s Football Alliance enough for life-long memories that make us smile.” Mrs Newman, Teacher, Foreland Fields.
“It was amazing to represent my school, Ramsgate and England, at the Menin Gate. I will never forget it” Joshua, Foreland Fields School.
“It is great to witness the unveiling of the 60th Peace Field Project Plaque here at the Peace Peace Pitch, Mesen, Flanders, Belgium, site of the 1914 First World War’s Christmas truces.” Sally Meysman, Manager, Peace Village.
A DAY TO REMEMBER
Foreland Fields School Global Peace Games Awards Presentation 17th November 2022
Today I had the pleasure of representing the Children’s Football Alliance to present Foreland Fields School students their certificates for participating the Global Peace Games at the Peace Village Mesen 2022, and to hand over the Peace Field plaque to headteacher, Adrian Mount.
Parents and carers of the students were invited to attend the awards ceremony hosted by Helen Newman, head of sixth form, where each of the students who took part in the Global Peace Games put together a presentation in their own words about their experiences in Belgium, for a majority the first time they had been overseas, and their participation in the Global Peace Games with other young people from all parts of the world.
“ After we introduced ourselves, we went out till 4.00pm, to exchange gifts. This was to re-enact the Christmas truce of 1914. Then we went to socialise, but we were all still awkward, most of our group were walking around. But for us, social butterflies, we saw the others…the Czech Republic group in the fields kicking a football about just having fun, so we just asked to join in.”
“Biking around was exhilarating and tiring, every muscle ached for us. We rode past houses by rows of graves and many memorials like the Flanders field, (the place of the event of the of the 1914 truce.)”
“Not knowing a word of Czech, and the Czech not knowing a word of English, John S, Darren N and G, Dominic and Ethan made friends with the Czech translator (Jakob,) and tried our best to participate. Whether it went well is not a big deal, it was fun.”
“The area we were in was a historical battlefield, the first where multiple nationalities died. It was a respectful place, that the original trench was restored so you can feel the environment and see how far we’ve come.”
“We enjoyed acting out different roles from the 1st and 2nd world war, such as: a prime minister, an activist, a dead soldier, and we got to express our views.”
“As a group we were privileged to see the Last Post. A ceremony of remembrance that has been held for the last 100 years. Joshua was chosen to represent Foreland by placing the Global Peace Games football in front of the wreathes of poppies and walls of soldiers.”
On completion of the presentation I handed over the Peace Fields Plaque to Helen and Adrian, the plaque to be displayed at the school’s own Peace Field, twinned with the Peace Field at Mesen.
Then it was time to give out certificates to all the students who took part in the games.
On conclusion of the awards presentation, I had some time to talk with the students parents and carers over coffee and biscuits, each expressing how much their child had enjoyed the experience and the positive effect it had on them for their education and in their personal lives, many of the Foreland Fields students having kept in contact through social media and telephone calls with other young people they had met at the Global Peace Games.
David Ramzan – Special Educational Needs Manager-CFA