History Trips

Year 13 Trip to Krakow/Auschwitz

This visit gives pupils the opportunity to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, meet a Holocaust survivor and visit the Galicia Jewish Museum, Oskar Schindler’s factory and the Jewish Quarter.

A visit to this fascinating city greatly enhances their understanding of Weimar & Nazi Germany and the Cold War, which forms 50% of their GCSE course. Sites visited include Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall Memorial, Sachsenhausen concentration camp and the Olympic Stadium.

Year 9 get to walk through trenches to further their understanding of trench warfare, and also visit many important sites including the Thiepval Memorial, Vimy Ridge Memorial and the site of the Devonshire trenches.

We work closely with Watford & District Synagogue and join them for their annual Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations.
Year 9 students are taught by members of the Synagogue about how the Holocaust happened and get to listen to a Holocaust survivor about their experiences.

We work closely with Professor Richard Grayson of Goldsmiths University to ensure that the history of Hemel Hempstead during the World Wars is preserved. Our Year 9 historians read local newspapers stories from the war and have their accounts of these published on the Hemel at War website.
Our talented A Level historians get the opportunity to undertake degree-style research, analysing and summarising the key content of First World War battlefield diaries.

Year 8 study the Tudors in great detail- so a visit to the home of King Henry VIII is a must.
Students are guided round and get to see highlights such as the Great Hall, the Tudor kitchens and the Haunted Gallery.