Just before the Easter break, 32 students from across the Year 12 cohort visited Krakow to develop their knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust. Accompanied by Mr Owen, Mrs Lane and Miss May, students began their tour at Kazimierz, which since the 12^th century has been known as Krakow’s Jewish Quarter. However, as a result of Nazi persecution since Poland’s occupation in 1939, and the devastating loss of life and culture due to the Holocaust, this once vibrant space is now much smaller in size and population. After visiting one of Krakow’s oldest synagogues and Jewish cemeteries, students listened to the testimony of Anna Janowska Cioncka, who spoke of her family’s experience under Nazi persecution.

Exploring pre-war Jewish life and meeting and speaking with a Holocaust survivor helped to prepare students and staff for day two, which involved a full tour of the concentration and extermination camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Here, students learnt more about the function of both Auschwitz 1 and Birkenau and spent time exploring a range of exhibits including ‘Shoah’, which provided an overview of pre-war Jewry, whilst commemorating the 1 million Jewish children who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. We ended our trip exploring the former Jewish ghetto in Krakow, and learning about the heroic efforts of Tadeusz Pankiewicz, a Polish pharmacist, who provided medicine and supplies for those trapped behind the ghetto wall.

Sreelakshmi Sreejith (12D5) said, “I found this trip very interesting and it showed me the true struggles that the victims of the holocaust went through. I think the [pre-trip] seminars really helped me to develop a basic understanding of what the Holocaust was, so that when I went on the trip I could get the full experience and develop that understanding which was very helpful.”

From the moment we left St Barts at 3am on the 27 March to our arrival back, our students were phenomenal. They engaged with all elements of the trip and supported each other exceptionally well. A huge thank you to each of you.

A further thanks to all staff involved, with a special thanks to Mrs Lane and Miss May.

Don’t forget to follow our Beacon journey on our new Instagram account: beaconbarts2024

On 1 April, 40 geography students accompanied by Miss Brenton, Mr Langton, Mrs Roberts and Mr Wilder set of for Iceland to explore the country’s landscapes.

After landing, we went to the FlyOver Iceland experience, which was a virtual reality immersive tour around some of Iceland’s most impressive landscapes. After being a bit sceptical to begin with, everyone thoroughly enjoyed it and said it was a brilliant way to start the trip. Over the course of the next three days, we experienced the best of South Iceland, travelling around the Golden Circle seeing amazing waterfalls and geysers, as well as a brilliant walk up to the Solheimajokull glacier.

A level students were able to experience a glaciated landscape first-hand, which helped with revision for their Unit 1 paper. GCSE students enjoyed the black sand beaches at Vik and were able to revise their Coasts topic using the Dryholaey headland to pick out key landforms.

Our Icelandic driver and tour guide were fantastic and gave us lots of interesting information about the country and its landscapes. It was brilliant to hear about the country from local people. On our final full day we got to unwind and relax at Krauma Spa, one of Iceland’s many geothermal baths. We all spent a peaceful hour or so soaking in the hot tubs. Braver members took the plunge in the cold bath with Ben and Kathryn lasting the longest; Miss Brenton was too much of a wimp and could only manage dipping her toes! After an early start on Friday morning to the airport, we were treated with one last surprise – being able to see the volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula from the safety of our coach window.