HIGH school pupils' thoughts focused on the old boys of Leigh Grammar School, who gave their lives during the First and Second World Wars.

Bedford High School, which occupies the old Grammar School site, paid tribute to those who have fallen through a permanent War Memorial found in the main entrance and last Thursday pupils and staff will observed a two minute silence.

This year is especially moving as 30 pupils and five teachers travelled to Belgium and France to visit First World War trenches and battlefields. They laid a wreath of poppies on the grave of Captain B.C Hall, an ex-Leigh Grammar boy who died in 1918. His grave is located in Sucrerie Military Cemetery near the Somme.

Two of those who took part in the ceremony, Kirsty Hoffman and Sarah Fairclough, said: "It was a moving experience to pay tribute to such a brave man, especially someone who attended our school."