Sixth formers and staff travelled to Poland during half term, where they made an “emotional and thought provoking” visit to Auschwitz.
On the first day of the A Level Humanities trip, the group of around 50 students took a guided tour of Krakow, seeing the Medieval old town and the Jewish quarter of the city, where they learned about the ghettos Jews were forced to live in after the Nazi invasion.
Later on they spent the afternoon at the Schindler museum, where local businessman Oskar Schindler helped save the lives of many Jews during the Second World War. His life was later captured in Steven Spielberg’s film, Schindler’s list.
The second day of the trip saw the group visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, the site of the largest concentration camp in occupied Europe during the Second World War.
“Hopefully the trip will remain with them for the rest of their lives. “
Teacher Jack Fleming.
History teacher Jack Fleming, who accompanied the students, said: “The experience was incredibly overwhelming for staff and students alike, as we saw first hand the place where over a million people were exterminated by the Nazis.
“All of us came away with an extra appreciation of the true horror of the Holocaust and many students revealed how emotional it had made them.”
Year 13 student Harry Miles, who went on the trip, said: “I would say that the trip to Poland was on the whole an amazingly culturally enriching trip to a quite beautiful country.
“Visiting the Auschwitz camp itself is an incredibly emotive and moving experience and is somewhere I would recommend people go to so they can be educated on the horrors that occurred there. It is a sombre experience but an incredible opportunity to visit a place like this”
Mr Fleming added: “Hopefully the trip will remain with them for the rest of their lives. We returned home glad to have gone and seen with our own eyes the scale of the atrocities committed by the Nazis, and a resolve not to let those crimes ever be forgotten.”
Boarding students had a magical return to school this term when they were welcomed back with a Harry Potter-themed formal dinner.
The dining hall was transformed into Hogwart’s Great Hall, with “floating” candlesticks and gold plates and cutlery.
Staff dressed up as some of the book’s favourite characters, from the school’s groundskeeper Hagrid with his dog Fang to the mysterious Professor Trelawney, Professor Snape and even Harry Potter’s arch nemesis Voldermort.
After their feast students took part in a potions class and enjoyed games and activities such as mini Quidditch and finding Dobby’s socks.
The meal marks the start of the Spring Term which sees boarding students return to Steyning from as far afield as South Africa, Antigua and Dubai after visiting their families for Christmas.
Amanda Templeman, boarding house parent said: “Every year we mark the start of the Spring term with a formal dinner and we decided on a Harry Potter theme because many students learn about boarding by reading and watching Harry Potter.
“Students gave a standing ovation to the staff who had dressed up.”
The event was secretly organised by a committee of students and staff, with every student receiving a sealed invite to the dinner and a robe beforehand.
