Eleven students who committed themselves to an immersive, enriching and collaborative Holocaust education project were rewarded for their efforts with an invite to a day long project conference at Royal Wootton Basset Academy.

Devised by Nicola Wetherall MBE, The Holocaust, their family, me and us (HtFMeUs) project supports and guides students to explore one of the stories from the BBC documentary ‘My Family, the Holocaust and me’ featuring Robert Rinder MBE and his mother Angela Cohen MBE, alongside three other families as they embark on a journey to trace the stories of their families and their experiences of the Holocaust.

*Bernie Graham talks to Year 10 students Isabella, Arielle, Elizabeth and Year 11 Students Vishnu and Alexandra.*

The HtFMeUs project launched at Highfields in November 2022 and has been co-ordinated in school by Miss J Tappenden (Head of History) and Mrs J Ellis (Humanities TA). Students have committed themselves weekly to learning more about the story of Robert and Angela, completing a range of tasks and challenges, as well as playing a significant role in raising awareness of the project and Holocaust education throughout the school community.

On Wednesday 31st January 2024 the student group, made up of students from Years 10 and 11, participated in the HtFMeUs project conference day hosted at RWBA, part of the Ascend Learning Trust in which the project was first launched. They participated in several sessions, including a creative writing workshop focused on the conference theme ‘Fragments’, and the Challenging Myths and Misconceptions workshop in which students considered how to challenge popular misconceptions or knowledge gaps of the Holocaust.

*Louisa Clein in discussion with Year 11 students Evie-Ann , Thomas and William during ‘A picture is worth 1000 words’ workshop.*

A particular highlight for students was meeting representatives from three of the families featured in the documentary. Bernie Graham, Louisa Clein and Robert Rinder MBE spent the day with students, generously sharing their thoughts, advice, encouragement and experiences with students from Highfields and the other schools in attendance.

The conference closed with a celebration assembly in which Highfields were invited to share their project experiences and achievements with other delegates.

There was praise from Miss J Tappenden who opened the presentation with a word of thanks to participating students for their hard work, dedication and imagination during the project. Vishnu Patel and Isabella Stokes (year 11 and 10 respectively) then shared examples of their work with other schools, students and project representatives. Students presented Robert Rinder, Bernie Graham and Louisa Clein with pin badges, which are worn by students on their blazers to promote the project in school.