The History Department at Highfields will be working alongside University College London as participants in the Beacon School for Holocaust Education programme, which begins in July for a duration of 12 months.
The UCL Centre for Holocaust Education selects a small number of schools to work with each year, supporting the development of exemplary Holocaust education within schools and the local community. Competition for places on the programme is strong, but Miss Tappenden, Head of History, received confirmation this week that the school’s application has been successful.
Miss Tappenden said, “This is an incredible opportunity for students at Highfields and the wider school community. We are always reviewing our curriculum offering to ensure students get the high-quality history education that they deserve. Understanding the Holocaust is an integral part of our Key Stage 3 curriculum. We have already invested a lot of time into our current scheme of work but look forward to reviewing this again in light of the added expertise that working alongside UCL will bring”.
The programme will also challenge the school to consider how Holocaust education can be further embedded into the wider school curriculum. Miss Tappenden continued, “Holocaust education already plays an important role in the wider school curriculum. It is a significant part of our assembly programme and other departments including English and RE already incorporate elements of the topic into their curriculums. This programme will provide an excellent opportunity to work alongside other staff within school to consider how we can support each other in delivering effective and appropriate Holocaust education”.
Becoming a Beacon school will also put Highfields at the forefront of Holocaust education within the city, providing an excellent opportunity for staff from other secondary schools in Wolverhampton to work with Highfields to develop their own curriculums. The History department already has an excellent programme of Holocaust education which includes a biannual trip to Krakow in Poland, visiting Auschwitz and other significant sites in the area.
