PUPILS from a school near Odiham made a very personal trip to First World War battlefields in France.

The GCSE pupils from Lord Wandsworth College laid a cross at the spot where Lieutenant J K Falconer died on July 31, 1917.

Lt Falconer, whose father sold his estate to help found the school, died in St Julien, near Ypres – the scene of one of the bloodiest battles.

One pupil, Tom Leonard, 14, from Shalden near Lasham, laid a cross at the grave of his great-great-uncle Frank Cassels, near Mametz.

Ben Coomer, from Holybourne, near Alton, became the first member of his family to see the remote area where his greatgrandfather died on the Somme.

The pupils learned about the actions of the Hampshire Regiment on July 1, 1916, and their earlier success in divisional sports.

They visited preserved trenches, British and German cemeteries in Ypres and Menen, and learned about issues like execution, court martials, life in the trenches and soldiers’ literature.

There was also a visit to the rebuilt town of Ypres and its chocolate shops.

Tom Shedden, head of history at the Long Sutton private school, said: “The pupils worked hard in unseasonal weather and showed great enthusiasm and intelligence in the variety of their responses and questions.”