Battlefields Experience 2017 Parents’ information evening Wednesday 19 April 2017

Mercat Tours This is the sixteenth successive Battlefields Experience with Mercat Tours, Edinburgh. Our Mercat Tours guides will accompany our party from the school gates to France, Belgium and back again.

Staff The staff on the trip are A Notman(Group Leader) D Downie L Montgomery A Lochhead S McAlpine T Moodie and two guides from Mercat Tours who will accompany us throughout our trip.

Departure The coach will leave from the school on Sunday evening at 20.30 pm. Pupils should arrive with their luggage at 19.45 pm. We will travel through the night, and arrive at Dover early on Monday morning.

Bus On the bus pupils will be expected to remain in their seats with their seat belts on when the bus is moving and to keep the bus neat and tidy- it will be our home for a long time! The Battlefields Experience will begin as soon as we set off from the school, so the pupils will be kept busy until our first service station stop in England at around midnight.

Toilet Use & Food Stops The toilet on the bus is for emergencies only, so pupils will be encouraged to take advantage of the two or three stops that we make on our way south overnight. Pupils should bring food and/or money to buy snacks at service stations or in the coach tuck shop (available when we reach Belgium).

Luggage We will not have access to our main luggage until we arrive at the hotel on Monday evening, so it is important that pupils bring a basic change of clothes with their day luggage. A pillow and a travel rug are recommended for the bus journey, together with items such as a book, magazines, mobile phone or tablet etc.

Battlefields Experience May 2017 Wellies or walking boots are necessary as the historic sites can be very muddy. Also, this helps us to keep the bus floor clean. **Don’t pack them in your luggage.** Pupils will be divided into six groups so that teachers can make a quick head count at each stop, and send groups off in different directions at some sites.

Medical We are happy to look after any medicines that pupils have to take with them on the trip. We will have basic first aid kits with us at all times. Please let me know if there are any dietary requirements.

Activities Record We are out in the French and Belgian countryside all day, every day, from breakfast to teatime, no matter what the weather is like. At the end of each day pupils will be expected to write up a brief diary of their experiences. This is done during the briefing session for the next day’s activities.

Hotel Pax The hotel is situated in a very sleepy town called Dixmuide, close to Ypres (Ieper in Flemish). Breakfast and evening meals will be served in the hotel

Hotel Pax Boys and girls will be on separate floors, as much as possible, with staff rooms on both floors. The hotel bedrooms have their own toilets and showers, as well as televisions. When the pupils are told to go to their rooms, they are expected to remain in their rooms until the next morning.

Food/Eating Arrangements Breakfasts, packed lunches and evening meals are provided from Monday evening to Friday morning. The restaurant is used to catering for school groups so the food meets with the approval of almost all pupils, even vegetarians. Pupils will have time to buy chocolate and souvenirs in Ypres on Thursday afternoon.

Return Journey & Emergency Contacts Pupils will be able to phone to confirm our expected time of arrival in Stirling during the final stop in England on Friday evening. We hope to arrive back at approx. 22.00 pm. Emergency contact numbers will be distributed before we set off on Sunday evening.

Money We recommend that pupils take no more than £40 - £60 converted into Euros, and about £20 in Sterling for our stops in England (there and back). Our tuck shops can take both currencies. Pocket money can be looked after by staff.

There are four golden rules for the Battlefields Experience Sit down with your seatbelt on when the bus is moving. Keep the bus floor tidy: put all litter in the bags provided. Listen when we speak to you i.e. headphones must be removed, phones switched off etc. Treat everyone, on and off the bus, with respect and courtesy.

Sit down with your seatbelt on when the bus is moving. Keep the bus floor tidy: put all litter in the bags provided. Listen when we speak to you i.e. headphones must be removed, phones switched off etc. Treat everyone on and off the bus with respect and courtesy. Pupils must remember that while we are not in school, we are representing our community abroad. Any misbehaviour will be dealt with by isolating that pupil from her/his friends - on the bus, at meals, and even in the rooms. If necessary, we will phone home to inform parents of any misbehaviour – to date, we have had to do this only once.

Luggage Your luggage has to be divided into three: day luggage, for the journey to Belgium –details of what should be included are on page one of the final newsletter; wellies or walking boots to be stored on the bus – these will be needed from the Tuesday morning; the rest of your luggage – once it is stored on the coach this luggage cannot be accessed until we arrive at the hotel on the Monday evening.

Luggage Common sense should help you to decide what to pack for the hotel, but remember that we will be out in the countryside most of the time, and we will not return to the hotel until the evening of each day, so there will be few opportunities, if any, to find a shop that sells something you forgot to pack. Remember that the weather in northern France and Belgium is similar to our own in May i.e. it can be very warm and sunny, or cold and cloudy (and even wet), sometimes on the same day. Pack for both types of weather.

Luggage Make sure that you pack the following in your luggage for the hotel: spare toiletries (remember that your toothbrush, toothpaste, etc. should be in your day luggage); several changes of underwear, socks etc.; several changes of clothes (remember that we are away from Tuesday evening until Sunday evening, and damp jeans can be very uncomfortable on a wet day); nightwear; at least one spare pair of shoes/ trainers; a continental adaptor for phone chargers, hairdryers, etc.