Express & Star

Dubai children learn how Wolverhampton remembered war heroes

Young learners in the Middle East have discovered how war heroes were commemorated thousands of miles away.

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Teacher Rebecca Madeley, originally from Wolverhampton, shows pupils at the Regent International School in Dubai how her hometown marked Remembrance weekend

Wolverhampton's Remembrance events were screened to youngsters in Dubai to teach them how the UK marked the anniversary.

Regent International School decided to share Wolverhampton's activities with its children as teacher Rebecca Madeley is from the city.

Head of year four Ms Madeley said: “I used the pictures in a lesson with my class. They went down fantastically and the children genuinely loved it.

“I explained what Wolverhampton, my hometown, had done to commemorate the 100 years since the end of the First World War.

“We study the war later in the academic year, so it sparked a huge amount of interest. The children have now developed a huge interest in both world wars and equally in Wolverhampton. We looked on google maps as well so they could see the area.

“I spotted St Edmunds school in some of them, which was my old school, which my class got very excited about.”

Photographs from the city's School Remembrance Parade were shown to a class of eight and nine year olds.

It came after Ms Madeley's father Andrew, who works for Wolverhampton Council, watched the parade as more than 300 young people marched alongside veterans and members of the armed forces in the city.

The facilities management worker then put his daughter in touch with the council's communications team, which sent her a gallery of pictures from the event.

Councillor Linda Leach, chairwoman of Wolverhampton Remembers, said: “Our schools’ parade was a wonderful event where different generations came together to remember those who died in war.

“I am delighted that the images from that event have gone around the world and have helped to teach young people living so far away how we in Wolverhampton honour our war dead.

“Remembrance in Wolverhampton was so special this year as we pulled out all the stops to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War.”