CHILDREN at Kings' School  said their moving Armistice Day ceremony offered a "jarring reminder" of the horrors of war.

The Winchester school fell silent on Wednesday at its annual remembrance service as pupils met veterans from St Thomas's Old Boys Association.

Rev Neil Birkett, a former deputy headteacher, led prayers before readings from four Year 9 pupils, reflecting on their recent trip to the battlefields.

Year 9 pupil Lara Clarke said: "St Thomas’s was Kings’ predecessor, standing until the mid-1950s, and it was a solemn and important event to honour their peers – our ancestors – under the World War I memorial, which has become the focal point of our school foyer.

"Hearing those words of remembrance from people I know well was a truly jarring reminder of all the men and women we have lost to war.

"Photographs were taken, some of got to hold the British Legion standard and we got an opportunity to speak to the veterans who shared their memories and proudly showed us their medals.

"Hopefully we can all wear our poppies a little prouder now we know what they represent."

Last month's trip to battlefields in Belgium and France saw pupils visit Tyne Cot cemetery, where 46,000 names of the fallen are etched in walls and graves.