We take pride in the fact we have been awarded the Holocaust Beacon School status. Every year, we spend time educating our students about this important event. The Friary has worked hard to develop students’ awareness of genocide and the issues that surround it. One of the principle themes of this important focus week is that the world has not yet learnt its lesson from history and there are still important changes to be made.
During the Holocaust memorial week, we have held assemblies that focused on the importance of remembering the Holocaust and also other genocides that have happened in recent history. In addition, Year 9 students had the opportunity to listen to the experiences of a survivor from the recent Rwandan genocide in 1990-1994. Louise Ndibwirende, from the Ishami Foundation, discussed her personal experience of the Rwandan conflict when she was orphaned at a young age. She told students about her journey and how she recovered from such trauma. This was well received and our students had lots of questions at the end of the session.
Students have also created a school memorial to remember those that were lost in the Holocaust and to remember the families that are still affected today. During lunchtimes, students have been decorating foundation stones and writing messages of remembrance.
Connor Perry, Teacher of history and Holocaust Ambassador, said: “ The Holocaust memorial week has gone extremely well. It is so reassuring the see the empathy that students have towards this important topic.”
