PUPILS and teachers from across the Basildon borough will be visiting the Peace Village in Ypres, Belgium, to honour fallen soldiers.

Twelve children from six Basildon schools – Woodlands, Beauchamps, Vange Primary School, Lee Chapel Primary School and Greenstead School –will be taking part in the trip as part of The Peace Field Project.

The children will be joined by the Basildon Army and Sea Cadets on the trip, which takes place from February 19 to 23.

Their visit is part of the Forget Never Sacrifice and Legacy WW1 Project, which is funded by the Heritage Lottery.

These schools are the first in Essex to take part.

Pupils will get to meet with 12 other youngsters from Gesamtschule, from Basildon’s sister town Heiligenhaus, Germany.

They will be taking part in the re-enactment of the famous Christmas truce football game in1914 when an unofficial armistice was declared along the Western Front to celebrate Christmas while soldiers from both sides fraternised.

The children’s performance will be attended by the UK and German ambassadors to Belgium.

They will also visit the First World War grave cemeteries, museums and other places of interest in the Flanders region.

The children who have taken part in the project will be nominated as “Peace Ambassadors of the Future” and the six schools will also be gifted with plaques for their participation.

A spokesman for the project said: “We are proud to announce that Colin and Wendy Parry will be coming to Basildon to present the plaques to the schools on Friday, March 2.

“Colin and Wendy set up the Peace Centre in Warrington and the Foundation for Peace after the tragic death of their 12-year-old son Tim in an IRA bombing in 1993.”

The school has also organised a round-table meeting with the couple where pupils will benefit from ideas on how to promote conflict resolution.

The winning pupils will be tasked with organising an event that promotes peace and harmony.

The event will take place on The United Nations International Peace Day which is on September 21. All six of the schools took part in a commemorative tournament last Thursday.