Holocaust Memorial Day and Lessons from Auschwitz

Throughout this week our students' assemblies will focus on Holocaust Memorial Day, which this year falls on Tuesday 27th January, as we join communities across the world to remember the six million Jewish people murdered in the Holocaust and the millions of others who have suffered as a result of genocide. It is a day not only of remembrance, but also of reflection on our shared responsibility to challenge hatred, prejudice and discrimination wherever they appear.

This year, Holocaust Memorial Day holds particular significance for our school as two of our Sixth Form students have been selected to take part in the Holocaust Educational Trust’s highly respected programme, Lessons from Auschwitz. This nationally recognised initiative aims to deepen young people’s understanding of the Holocaust while encouraging them to consider its relevance in the world today.

The programme includes two online seminars, taking place on 1st and 10th February, which prepare students for the historical and emotional context of their visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. The one-day visit to Poland on Wednesday 4 February is central to the project, and our students will be guided by specialist educators who will help them engage directly with the history of the site and the stories of those who were persecuted and murdered there.

More than a history visit, Lessons from Auschwitz encourages participants to become ambassadors for Holocaust education. Following their return, our students will share their experiences and learning with the wider school community, helping others to understand the importance of remembrance and the dangers of intolerance.

We are extremely proud of Ella and Freddie for taking on this responsibility and representing our school in such an important educational initiative. Their participation reflects our ongoing commitment to learning from the past in order to build a more understanding and compassionate future.

Thanks to Ella, an empty suitcase has been left on our school restaurant to represent the final journey of those affected by genocide. Leaving the case in a random place illustrates how ordinary lives were suddenly interrupted; how people were taken from homes, streets and stations, often with only what they could carry.

Placing the suitcase in our school was intentional. It reminds us that genocide does not begin with violence alone, but with prejudice, exclusion, and the gradual normalisation of hate. All processes that can occur anywhere.

Ella, who is part of the Community Committee, is encouraging students to place a message inside the suitcase; a reflection, a question, or a commitment to challenge injustice.

Remembrance is not only about the past, but about responsibility in the present.