On Monday 20th March 58 Year 9 History students were taken to the Imperial War Museum London. The aim of the trip was to visit the Holocaust Galleries that were established in 2019.

On arrival students were greeted by the fantastic staff at the Imperial War Museum and were given a brief introduction to the theme of the galleries which is to help people understand how and why the Holocaust happened.  After their introduction and quick IPad training, students went on a self-guided tour around the galleries using IPad and in depth audio guides to help them understand more about the exhibits.

The exhibition, while incredibly haunting, was an excellent guide to how and why the Holocaust happened, with students seeing sections such as;  Nazi Propaganda against minority groups, letters from Jewish prisoners in the ghettos and guides to both what the conditions in the concentration and death camps were and information about those who had orchestrated the Holocaust. Students during this section were engaged and incredibly mature given the sensitive subject matter.

After the gallery tour students had time to experience the exhibits across the rest of the museum, and in particular were told to focus on the collections from WW1, WW2 and the Cold War, all of which serve as a great addition to segments of the content they learn both in Year 9 and GCSE.

Students across the day were engaged, interested and showed great maturity. They were a credit both to themselves and Vandyke Upper School.

Mr Dodkin, History Department