STUDENTS at Studley High School got an insight into the horrors of the Holocaust and the courage of one brave girl when the Anne Frank Trust UK’s Schools Programme visited.
A temporary exhibition, ‘Anne Frank: A History for Today’, was set up which explored Anne’s life and the history of the Holocaust with the intention of challenging prejudice and discrimination.
In all 19 Year 9 pupils were selected as peer guides to guide students around the exhibition, as well as pupils from local primary schools, parents, staff and governors.
After two days of training, the students led their first tours, successfully delivering the programme to a number of schools from the area.
These included the Studley primary schools who asked some probing questions of the guides and were thoroughly engaged.
This was followed up with workshops on transgender, racism and refugee issues which allowed the peer guides to apply their knowledge on discrimination and prejudice to the modern day.
The peer guides then closed their guiding sessions with a well attended VIP event, showing siblings, parents, teachers, governors and the local community alike what they had learnt about Anne Frank.
On the final day of the two week event, Mindu Hornick, an Auschwitz survivor, delivered a captivating talk to more than 200 pupils.
For both them and staff it was a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Mindu reminded the students of their duty to pass on the experiences of Holocaust survivors to others leaving all present feeling privileged to have supported the exhibition.
