TWO teenagers will fly out to France next year to commemorate the centenary of one of World War One’s deadliest battles.

Beth Cunningham and Emily Stevenson, who are both third year pupils at Notre Dame High School, have been selected to represent Inverclyde on a Scottish Government visit to North East France to mark the 100 year anniversary of the Battle of Arras.

Emily told the Tele it is will be an honour to join dignitaries from around the world at the poignant remembrance service.

The 14-year-old said: “We will be visiting Arras itself, a small town in the North East of France.

“The trip has been organised to celebrate the centenary of the battle there which happened during the Great War.

“There were a lot of Scottish casualties.

“This is such a great opportunity for us and we are both very grateful. We both love history so much and this trip will help us as we work towards our National 5 exam.”

Beth is also looking forward to the journey.

She said: “I think it will be quite hard as there will be a lot of reflection on the lives lost and the tragedy of it.

“But I think we will take a lot away from it.”

Mark Vance, who is a history teacher at Notre Dame, said the excursion is an excellent opportunity, adding: “This is a wonderful honour for Beth and Emily. It’s my understanding that the Scottish Government’s Commemorations Panel has only invited two pupils per local authority area across Scotland for this trip so it’s absolutely brilliant that Beth and Emily are selected.”

The Battle of Arras began on 9 April 1917 and was Britain’s first major battle following The Battle of the Somme in 1916. 

Although the Battle of Arras saw significant successes on the first day, it became enormously costly and eventually resulted in 159,000 British casualties.  

One third of this number were Scottish.

On their return from the trip, the girls will share their experiences with their fellow pupils and the wider community.