Students from St Albans joined the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at a remembrance service for the Battle of the Somme.

The five girls from St Albans Girls’ School attended the service at Westminster Abbey on June 30, on the eve of the centenary.

The Battle of the Somme saw almost 420,000 British soldiers killed and injured from July 1 1916 to November 18 1916.

Head Teacher Margaret Chapman said: “We are delighted and humbled to have had the opportunity to participate in this prestigious occasion, marking the 100th anniversary of the Somme.

“We have committed to building a ‘peace garden’ in school to commemorate this occasion. We want to ensure that we celebrate and respect the lives we have today, which are as a result of those who gave their lives during previous wars and battles.”

Following the remembrance service, the students - Eleanor Slaughter, Jemima Biodun-Bello, Jazmin Shenton, Niamh Haynes and Lorna Mistry and teacher, Tessa Miles - took part in an overnight vigil at the Abbey.

The vigils were accompanied by a narration of the battle – each of the 16 schools invited to the event played a part in telling the story.

Miss Mistry narrated the life of Edie Appleton, an army nurse who was awarded an OBE and Royal Red Cross for her service during the war. The other students joined the Armed Forces to form part of the formal vigil party.

Mrs Chapman said: “Within our school community we embrace our motto ‘ours is the care of the future’, whilst ensuring that we have respectful appreciation of the past - this forms the foundation of our success for the future of our young people.”