The 13-day tour was organised following a successful history class trip to Pompeii and Rome three years ago.

“We had been planning this trip for over 12 months, we thought it was a good idea due to such a successful trip last time,” Macintyre High School History teacher Lee Cutler said.

“The purpose of the trip was to have a ‘hands on’ experience of ancient history rather than just reading about it. It is the best way to learn and the most memorable if you can actually be at the sites,” Lee said.

The students organised raffles, trivia nights and chocolate drives to help support their trip.

The tour included visits to Greece and Turkey, featuring cities such as Rhodes, Athens, Corinth, Crete and Istanbul.

The itinerary involved sightseeing of ruins, monuments, museums and geological and archaeological sites.

“We covered all forms of transport. We walked up countless numbers of ancient marble stairs and went on cruises to Crete. Most students hadn’t been on a plane let alone overseas, so it was a huge experience for all,” Lee said.

However, the highlight of both the students and teachers trip was on April 23 when they travelled to Gallipoli.

“We had our own Anzac Service at Anzac Cove. It was very touching and special and we felt honoured to be able to commemorate the event,” Year 12 student Colleen Maclean said.

“We couldn’t really prepare ourselves before visiting Gallipoli. We knew it would be emotional, but we had no idea how sad and stirring the experience was going to be until we got there,” she said. The students felt it was a real eye opener as to how courageous the soldiers were. “We walked around and saw all the names of the soldiers that had died, it was unbelievable to read that most of the soldiers were only 17 and 18 when they died. That’s our age, I don’t know how they did it,” Year 12 student Tom Murphy said.

“We felt that Gallipoli was the highlight of our trip because of the significance of the site to us and all Australians,” he said.