Schools shine a light on Holocaust Memorial Day

The Star family’s shared commitment to challenge all forms of prejudice was reinforced on Holocaust Memorial Day as pupils and staff remembered those who have lost their lives to genocide.

The annual remembrance event was marked across the world on 27th January, in the hope that atrocities such as the Holocaust and other acts of persecution are never repeated.

Prior to Holocaust Memorial Day, a ground-breaking collaboration between Star and University College London Centre for Holocaust Education was announced, which aims to tackle mistruths and confusion in English schools. In February, staff from Star schools received CPD training from UCL at Eden Boys’ Leadership Academy, Manchester on ‘How to teach the Holocaust’, as part of the scheme. The partnership with UCL will provide pupils with a curriculum that deepens their understanding of the Holocaust with classroom resources and professional development.

The theme of this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day, Ordinary People, highlighted how ordinary people were complicit in all aspects of the Holocaust and in genocides across the world.

Pupils learned about these important lessons through assemblies and talks and also used their creative talents to communicate messages about challenging prejudice.

Starbank School was among just three schools nationally given the honour of performing at one of the country’s most significant Holocaust memorial events. Primary pupils performed a spoken word poem to almost 500 people at the Anne Frank Trust’s Annual Lunch in London. Six pupils provided a rendition of Dearest Anne, a piece they had written together with prominent poet Francesca Beard. They relayed their admiration of Anne Frank and how her lessons in fortitude positively affect their own lives.

Many pupils represented their schools at local commemorative events. At a Holocaust Memorial Day event at Bradford City Hall, pupils from Eden Boys’ Leadership Academy, Bradford read a poem and took part in a live debate around the ‘ordinary people’ theme. The event was attended by distinguished local delegates including the Lord Mayor of Bradford and Hanneke Dye, a Dutch survivor of the Holocaust.

Hearing from witnesses of the genocide during the Second World War formed an integral and poignant part of pupils’ learning.

Highfield Leadership Academy participated in a live webcast hosted by the Holocaust Education Trust which featured Ruth Posner, who survived the Holocaust by escaping the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, Poland, before becoming a famous actor and dancer in adult life. Year 9 pupils were moved by Ruth’s harrowing but inspiring tale which relayed the realities of the atrocity.