Perth Modern School Tour the EU
Associate Principal Val Furphy, Kerry Sanderson AO, School Captain Emma Dyce and Director of Music Roger Hey
Students and teachers from Perth Modern School have recently returned home after a much celebrated musical tour of Hungary, England, Belgium and France as part of centenary celebrations for the school.
The 140 students supported by 25 teachers and parents, performed at a number of concerts during their visit including ANZAC commemorative celebrations in London.
For the second time, Perth Modern School took a leading role providing choral and instrumental music at the official ANZAC Day commemorations in London, performing at Westminster Abbey and the dawn service in Hyde Park.
Student’s also performed in the Exhibition Hall of Australia House in central London to a packed audience including Kerry Sanderson, AO, Agent General for Western Australia and John Dauth, High Commissioner for Australia. Mrs Kerry Sanderson said, “It was an outstanding performance.”
The tour also took participants to Ypres in Belgium, the scene of fierce fighting in WW1 during the Battle of Messines Ridge, Hill 50 and Polygon Wood. Members of the tour also performed during the daily Last Post Commemoration ceremony held daily at the Menin Gate and presented a concert in the village of Fournes-en-Weppes, adjacent to the Fromelles battlefield. The performance at Menin Gate was particularly poignant as a number of former students had their names remembered on the walls for their sacrifice in WW1.
The Tour finally concluded in France where the students performed at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and Cathedral of Amiens in the Picardy Region and visited the Australian War Memorial, Villers Brettoneux and the village of Le Hamel, the site of one of Australia's greatest victories.
Perth Modern School is the oldest public senior secondary school in Western Australia. It opened as a scholarship school in 1911 with a charter to offer a 'modern' education to students of strong academic ability. Excellence in music has been a focus of the school for over 40 years.
