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Wartime lessons and lunches bring history to life for VE Day celebrations

13/05/2025
Staff at The Bemrose School celebrated VE Day wearing traditional wartime outfits

A Derby school stepped back in time to honour the heroes of the past and give pupils a taste of life during wartime Britain.

Sandwiches and scones were served as a traditional wartime lunches
A street-style party was held for a handful of students in recognition of their exceptional behaviour

Staff and pupils at The Bemrose School got into the spirit of VE Day by dressing up, tucking into traditional wartime food and taking part in a day of themed lessons and activities.

Claire Amos and Louise Attew wore original clothing worn by a nurse who served during wartime
Displays were around the school in patriotic colours

The day began with an assembly, where students watched a video that explained how the Bombe machine was instrumental in breaking wartime codes and ultimately helped bring the war to an end.

Articles from newspapers around VE Day were displayed in the schools library
A selection of children were treated to a street-style party in recognition of their exceptional behaviour

A range of cross-curricular activities took place throughout the day. All pupils had a history lesson focused on VE Day, science lessons explored codebreaking, English classes looked at famous wartime speeches and in food technology, students learned how to make traditional potato salad using authentic wartime recipes.

Scones and sandwiches were included in the street-style party

Claire Amos, careers lead and Louise Attew, safeguarding lead at the school helped bring the past to life by proudly wearing original clothing belonging to Miss Williamson, who served as a Second Lieutenant in Queen Alexandra’s Nursing Corps in France during the war.

VE Day-themed lunches were served including bubble and squeak, corned beef hash, veggie pie and meatloaf

Pupils were treated to a special VE Day-themed lunch, which included bubble and squeak, corned beef hash, veggie pie, meatloaf, scones, cake and apple crumble – or for a more authentic touch, traditional packed lunches of sandwiches.

To round off the celebrations, a wartime-themed street tea party was held for a select group of students who were chosen as a reward for their exceptional behaviour across the school.

This press release was distributed by Penguin PR. To find out more contact Sarah-Louise Elton on 01332 416228 or by email at [email protected]

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