We took pianists across Year 9, 10, 11 and 13 to Finchcocks Piano Retreat in Goudhurst to learn about the rich history that some of the pianos have, and then to also record one by one on the Steinway. The students were assigned to one of the ten grand pianos in the vaulted room to rehearse and to see how different the sound is on each one. Our music students have worked so hard and this was a great reward to showcase their performances. We hope to take some younger students later in the year. 

On Wednesday 6th December, 29 Year 9 students along with Mr Burton, Miss Smith & Ms Morton were fortunate enough to attend workshops and complete a self-guided tour at the Imperial War Museum for the Holocaust Gallery. Our Year 9 students have already been studying historic Jewish Persecution during Module 2, to better understand the roots of anti-semitism and then how & why the Holocaust happened. Students have been progressively understanding the shocking impact of WW2 on deepening Jewish persecution, and topics we have studied including Ghettos, Einsatzgruppen and the establishment of death camps were a central focus of the gallery. To inform our inquiry, students have been fortunate to use some excellent textbooks from the University College London which focuses on the testimony of victims & survivors, again a key theme of the IWM gallery. 

Our day started with us catching an early train from Paddock Wood to London Waterloo East. The students behaviour was exemplary and they chit chatted with the staff on the way over, excited for the day to commence. At 10am we were into the museum and taken up through some of the galleries and into the research rooms where Will began his presentation. Students began by exploring quotes from letters of Jewish victims during the Holocaust, and he questioned students about which period of persecution these would have been from. We were shown quotes from 1936, 1942, 1944 and 1945, reinforcing that Anti-semitism was not just during the period of the Holocaust. Will helped students to reinforce their understanding that persecution was race based rather than religion, that anti-semitism exists internationally but in particular in Eastern Europe during the Holocaust, the importance of personal stories over just stating numbers of victims and the need to focus on how we use language around these events. 

Students were then split into groups and were given an iPad each. Will showed the group how to use them, and students practiced using them. The resources really were fantastic. As you work your way through the Holocaust Gallery, the iPad updates the room you're in and guides you towards important historical artefacts and information. You then complete questions in your group before moving on. At the end of each room, students had to select 3 words that best described 'how & why the Holocaust happened' which built up their own word bank. Students moved through the gallery alongside members of the public, in what was a sobering experience. The tour is very emotive and full of testimony, which best helps students to show empathy, an important approach to learning we've taken this module in our lessons. We had 90 minutes in the gallery, with not a minute wasted.

Once the self-guided concluded, we returned to the research rooms with Will. Will also asked the students to reflect on "Why it is important that we continue to study the Holocaust". Our students gave excellent answers, including Isabella's which reflected on the importance of never repeating these events again. After the workshop concluded, we grabbed lunch together before visiting the gift shop, and then completing the journey home.

In the final week of term, History students in Year 12 and 13 enjoyed an opportunity to visit the National Archives in a trip led by Dr Pollack and Miss Dunne. As we arrived, we took the obligatory photograph outside the (apparently nuclear bomb-proof!) exterior of the archives, before venturing within. There was plenty to keep us occupied before the workshop began: students were able to admire - and sit at! - a replica of the Cabinet Table. It was a great opportunity for students to reflect on the many Prime Ministers they have studied that form a key part of their course on Britain, 1906 to 1957. Students also managed to see a number of exhibitions that commemorated important anniversaries occurring this year: it has been 75 years since the foundation of the NHS and the arrival of the Empire Windrush, an iconic moment often seen as marking the beginning of Caribbean migration to Britain. After a brief pause to try to decode a replica of the Domesday Book and dredging up Year 7 knowledge, students were unleashed on the National Archives' computers, where they tried to track down relatives using the 1921 census with some success.

However, the centrepiece of the visit was the workshop, entitled 'suffragettes through government eyes: "a little daylight game". This was an incredibly special moment: in one of the reading rooms of the archives, students were able to browse freely through a small selection of the 12.3 million boxes of documents housed there. They found out about Hilda Byron and Florence Tunks, campaigning for women's votes, who communicated in code and left a trail of destruction across the country as they committed arson and other suffragette 'outrages'. Students were then able to read the documents for themselves - a range of them coming from the Home Office and Metropolitan Police files between 1906 and 1914 - often making quite shocking discoveries about how the government dealt with suffragettes and responded to their tactics. We saw evidence of the police masking their brutality towards women; of misogynistic attitudes in writing; of the violence of force-feedings that occurred when women went on hunger strike in prisons. What was so brilliant was being able to have conversations afterwards about how the archives had brought our studies to life: many were moved and really struck by the fact that these terrible events had happened to real women who were fighting for a cause we often take for granted. After we reflected a little, we left via the gift shop, which saw lots of enthusiasm from 6th formers, who became particularly attached to the National Archives 'rat'. This is not a random mascot: it was the discovery of a mummified rat, which had eaten many important documents, that led to the creation of the National Archives in the first place!

As ever, our students were incredibly well-mannered and positive travelling through London and we were really proud of them. This was a brilliant occasion to deepen both their engagement with sources and their understanding of the time period. Thanks all for taking part and enjoying it so much!