Horrors of Holocaust remembered on anniversary of Auschwitz liberation

Students are remembering the millions of people murdered during the Holocaust as part of events to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau.

A special assembly was held for all students examining this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day theme, ‘Stand Together’. The assembly, delivered by Head of History, Miss K Harrison, challenged the notion of ‘Us versus them’, exploring how genocidal regimes throughout history have deliberately fractured society by marginalising certain groups. Students have been encouraged to consider how their role as individuals can challenge oppression by standing together with their friends, peers and neighbours.

Miss J Tappenden, Head of Humanities Learning School, has also developed resources to be used during form time to examine the Holocaust in greater depth and contextualise its significance in the 21st century by looking at further examples of genocide and asking students to consider to what extent the lessons from the Holocaust have been learned.

There are plans to mark the occasion further throughout the Summer term, helping students to understand the huge significance of the liberation of Auschwitz, whilst highlighting how the horrors of the Holocaust continued for many Jews after this date.

She said: “The liberation of Auschwitz on the 27th January 1945 was a significant occasion.  It marked the beginning of the end of the Nazi regime, which would eventually fall on 8th May 1945. 

“Of the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, over 1 million were lost to Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is the largest cemetery in the world and yet it is marked by no gravestone.  

“Here at Highfields, we want our students to understand the significance of all of the events which will be commemorated with 75-year anniversaries this year. Whilst the liberation of Auschwitz is hugely significant, we want our students to understand how, for many Jews, the horrors of the Holocaust continued.  

“Belsen, for example, was not liberated until 15th April 1945.  It is crucial that students understand the bigger picture; how VE Day marked not just the end of nearly 6 years of war, but also the true liberation it afforded people who had been persecuted under Hitler’s regime. We want them to understand that liberating Auschwitz was not the end of it, that further camps continued to operate and that many thousands more who fled persecution or were affected by the horrors of war faced months and years as refugees having left homes, jobs and possessions behind them.  We want our students to experience the feelings of joy, relief and celebration felt across Europe during VE Day 75 years ago, but to be able to set these into context of the suffering, devastation and loss of the war. 

“It is of great importance to us that students are able to contextualise these historical events and understand their relevance today, especially in light of Wolverhampton’s status as a City of Refuge, offering support to refugees affected by conflict today.”

At Highfields, we are extremely proud of our History curriculum, which aims to embrace diversity, challenge discrimination and promote tolerance at all levels. An important part of this is creating opportunities for students to develop their understanding of these issues outside the classroom as well as within it.

The History Department is planning a large scale school-wide commemoration event to rival that of the school’s remembrance events marking the centenary of the end of the First World War in 2018. 

Details of the programme will be revealed in due course, but the events, planned for May of this year to coincide with the 75th anniversary of VE Day, will offer a variety of extra-curricular activities to extend students’ understanding of the Holocaust, liberation, the end of war and its legacy, and the role of Wolverhampton in supporting refugee and asylum seeking families into a welcoming and inclusive community.  

Miss Tappenden is currently also liaising with former Highfields student, Joe Twilley, Head of Communications for the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust UK, to build an experience which is truly unique and engaging for students at Highfields.

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Berlin and Krakow trip 2021:

History will be brought to life for Highfields students during a trip to Germany and Poland, when they will step into the past to learn about the horrors of Hitler’s Third Reich.

The week-long coach trip to Berlin and Krakow is an established fixture on the school calendar which takes place every two years and allows students to reflect on the inhumanity and brutality of the Second World War.

The trip will take place from July 15th-22nd 2021. The trip is currently open to Year 10 students, and most places have already been taken. Any remaining spaces will be opened up to students in Year 9 over the coming days.

Highfields to stage its biggest Careers Fair

Highfields is preparing to host its biggest ever Careers Fair to inspire hundreds of students to make the right choices for their future.

Dozens of exhibitors will be showcasing their services during the event, which will take place from 6pm-8pm on Thursday 30th January. It is open to all students, particularly those from Year 9 to Sixth Form.

A number of colleges, universities, training providers and employers from a range of industries will be represented at the Careers Fair, including Irwin Mitchell Solicitors, The British Army, The Royal Navy, Nova Training, Dudley College, City of Wolverhampton College, Birmingham City University, NHS and West Midlands Ambulance Service.

The event will also feature the school’s annual Course Choice Evening, to support Year 9 students in the process of choosing subjects to study in Years 10 and 11. As well as presentations from Headteacher, Mr G Tate, and Head of Middle School and Careers Leader, Mr P Rose, visitors will also be given an insight into the the range of subjects on offer and what they involve with displays on the top floor.

Mr Rose said: “In January each year, the whole school focuses on CEIAG, culminating in the the annual Highfields School Careers Fair. 

“This year will be the biggest Careers Fair to date and is an exciting opportunity for students to meet and talk with local businesses and apprenticeship providers, as well as further and higher education institutions.

“We are fully committed to doing all that we can to ensure that all of our students understand the possibilities open to them in the future. This event gives them chance to talk to a vast range of industry professionals to give them a better insight into the many different pathways available, and which would be most suitable for them.”

The resourses from the Year 9 Course Choice Evening can be found below:

• Year 9 Course Choice Evening

• Making the Right Choices Booklet

Year 9 students 'Moving Forward' towards career dreams

Year 9 students have been looking to the future as part of Highfields’ annual ‘Moving Forward’ event, which supports them in making the right course choices to achieve their career goals.

The event provides students with advice, guidance and inspiration, enabling them to make informed decisions about their subject choices for Years 10 and 11.

The day kicked off with a launch assembly before two guest speakers, Hazel Crawford and Jas Sidhu, gave motivational talks about aspiring and achieving.

Hazel is the founder of successful PR, social media and advertising agency, 8848. Born in a one-room council flat in Glasgow, she set up the company in 1999. It now employs 25 people and has an annual turnover of more than £2million.

Former Highfields student, Jas Sidhu, also spoke to students about his life and work after school. A graduate of the Singularity University, Stanford Business School (Ignite Innovation programme), who has studied data science at the General Assembly, he has an interest in helping companies to innovate and really push the boundaries, and is currently on sabbatical from PwC working on his own venture.

The event also featured sessions on evaluating strengths, career options and revision skills, including the ‘4 Rs’ - Revisit, Reduce, Rehearse and Retrieve.

Mr P Rose, Highfields’ Head of Middle School and Careers Leader, said: “Our guest speakers gave excellent talks about making the right choices to achieve career goals.

“Their inspirational stories really struck a chord with our students.

“The ‘Moving Forward’ event kicks off the process of students making choices for the future and it aims to support them to make informed decisions, which will allow them to fulfil their career dreams.”

All Year 9 students will sit school exams in February to aid the course choice process, before final subject selections are agreed in March.

Continuing Professional Development at Highfields

On January 6th and 7th staff participated in 2 CPD sessions to develop their professional learning about the ‘Science of Learning’ and how this underpins the 4Rs at Highfields.

The first session, led by Dr Taylor (Lead Practitioner) and Mr Hegarty (Head of Social Science) explained to staff how cognitive psychology informs classroom practice and the second session led by Ms Downer (Senior Lead Practitioner) explained to staff the principles of the 4Rs and how these translate into classroom practice to support student’s retrieval skills

As part of the session led by Ms Downer, Mr King, Miss Harrison and Mr Rowley showcased some excellent practice to colleagues about how they had begun to implement the 4Rs in their curriculum.

Both sessions built on CPD from September 2019 and staff will have further opportunities this year to work collaboratively to continue to integrate the 4Rs into their curriculum.

The feedback from staff about the CPD was extremely positive:

“This CPD was exceptionally inspiring. I felt proud to be part of Highfields and such innovative curriculum planning and came away feeling excited for the future opportunities and benefits for our student. In a nutshell, this is exactly what CPD should look and feel like!”

“Really well conceived and delivered. It is already making people think about how they are organising and presenting their lessons.”

“Very useful. The delivery was informative and interesting. Good to see that much of what was discussed is already being done, it just needs resources being explicitly linked to 4Rs.”

“The staff who lead the CPD where very clear in demonstrating the 4Rs. Well done to all.”

Hidden Histories being brought to life as part of new programme

History fans are delving into the past to learn more about hidden tales from years gone by as part of a new extra-curricular programme launched to expand students’ knowledge.

Highfields’ History Department has launched the new ‘Hidden Histories’ programme, which is open to all students from Years 7-13.

The newly-launched programme currently involves one lecture per half term, each looking at a different time in history, but there are already plans to expand the scheme to allow Upper School and Sixth Form students to present their own lectures in future. 

Miss J Tappenden, Head of Humanities Learning School, said: “Hidden Histories is a school wide extra-curricular activity which welcomes all students to extend their learning beyond the classroom.

“We have an excellent knowledge rich, diverse and challenging curriculum in History, but it isn’t possible to cover every aspect of the past which is of interest to both our staff and students.

“Building on the success of our 2018 First World War centenary commemorations, where we ran a week-long programme of mini lectures on hidden histories of the war, we decided to roll the programme out on a more permanent basis to incorporate other untold stories, some of which build on curriculum learning, and others which are completely new.”

The first lecture, which took place on November 29th, was titled: ‘The Victorian Lunatic Asylum: Britain’s history with mental health’. 

Presented by Miss Tappenden, the lecture provided a snapshot into this fascinating and dark past, whilst also supporting a school focus on well-being and mental health.

Miss Tappenden said: “The lecture examined how the reputation of Victorian lunatic asylums has been portrayed as a wholly negative one, but by learning how before them there was no support at all for people with mental disabilities, we were able to see the progression from the past to the present day.

“Students learned why these establishments came to have the reputation they did, and how attitudes through the 19th century and beyond changed until the foundation of the NHS in 1948.”

What is coming up next on the Hidden Histories programme?

The next Hidden Histories lecture is planned for Friday 31st January and will examine the story of Eileen Nearne, who served in the Second World War as a member of the Special Operations Executive. 

Miss Tappenden said: “I won’t give too much of her story away as we want to save that for the lecture, but it involves capture and torture by the Gestapo (Nazi secret police) and escaping from a labour camp.

“What makes this story so special is that she is a relative of Spanish teacher, Miss Nearn, so this lecture has a lovely link to one of our very own members of staff here at Highfields. 

“Not only is this a fascinating and exciting examination of some of the lesser known stories of the Second World War, there is a really strong cross-curricular link in this story, as it shows the real value and possibilities of being able to speak another language.”

Law students see justice system in action during court visit

Lawyers of the future got the chance to see the justice system in action as part of a trip to Birmingham Magistrates Court.

Year 12 BTEC and A-Level Law students got the chance to tour the building’s mix of modern and historic courtrooms - including those used in the filming of British legal drama TV series, Judge John Deed.

After the supervised tour, students took their seats in the public gallery to watch Prosecutors, Defence Solicitors and Magistrates at work during a number of court cases.

BTEC students saw two drink drivers prosecuted, with the defendants fined and given driving bans. They also saw a defendant plead not guilty to a drugs charge and sent to Crown Court for trial.

Law teacher, Mrs N Allen, said: “The second group in the afternoon also saw three cases.

“One defendant was charged with assault and sent to Crown Court for sentencing. 

“The second was a man charged with a racially aggravated incident against a Salvation Army volunteer, who was given a tagging order, and the the final case was a shoplifter who got a conditional discharge.

“Our students are currently studying the criminal courts process, so this was a great experience for them to see how Magistrates are able to deal with some offences but have to pass others on to Crown Court. 

“They are also learning about the role of Magistrates, so this visit certainly helped them to put their learning into context.”

Budding politicians relishing Youth Council roles

Two budding politicians are relishing their roles representing the voices of their peers after being elected to Wolverhampton Youth Council - and are striving to improve recycling rates, tackle knife crime and raise awareness of mental health during the year ahead.

Anna Tabner and Libby Pauley, both Sixth Form students, attended a presentation evening celebrating their elections to the Youth Council, where Anna delivered a speech about getting the most out of the experience.

They were also presented with certificates by the City’s Mayor, Councillor Claire Darke, during the event.

The Youth Council, which formed in 2001, has evolved into a group for young people to make sure their views are considered by decision makers in Wolverhampton, as well as providing extra scrutiny for councillors.

Anna and Libby are among dozens of students from across Wolverhampton who will represent the views of all of the city’s young people as they confront decision makers about issues affecting their communities.

They were voted to represent Highfields by members of the school’s Head Team after submitting application letters outlining their aspirations.

It is the third year Anna has been elected to sit on the council, making her one of its longest serving members. She said: “Last year I held the role of Chair which meant hat I was in charge of running meetings and ensuring that everyone had an equal voice. This year I have stepped down from this position in order to do more effective work within the Youth Council without the added pressure of being Chair.

“As a member of the youth council I have attended and taken part in some of the scrutiny panels within the council which allows me to have detailed conversations with the elected councillors and employed directors to co-design and co-produce the best possible strategies regarding young people in the city.

“Scrutiny panels that I have attended include Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel, and Scrutiny Board. “Wolverhampton Youth Council has many different goals that we are consistently striving to achieve, which include increasing recycling in schools, protecting the environment, tackling knife crime and raising awareness about mental health.

“A personal goal of mine is to help to ensure a good standard of education for all young people in the city, includingthose in Elective Home Education.

“Recently, we had a declaration event where we welcomed new members into the youth council and as oneof its longest serving members, I delivered a speech about getting the best possible experience out of it.

“I encouraged the members to get involved with as much as they could. Wolverhampton Youth Council is constantly being invited to meetings and events on both a local and national scale so there is so much for new members to do to make the most out of their position.”

Musicians rock the stage with original song

Budding rock stars of the future showcased their talents on stage as part of a musical event.

Music students worked with Rock School Music as part of their Key Stage 3 curriculum.

During the programme of workshops, students worked with musicians from Rock School Music on an original composition.

They experienced being part of a band, learning a new instrument/developing their skills on their own instrument and building confidence to perform in front of each other.

The programme culminated in a live performance at Newhampton Arts Centre, along with other young musicians from across Wolverhampton, in front of relatives.

Music Teacher, Mrs A Scott, said: “These are valuable skillsfor students develop over the year if they are thinking fortaking GCSE music.

“For some students, the performance at Newhampton was the first time they have ever performed on stage.

“Highfields was the only school to write and perform their own original song, which is a great achievement for all of the students that took part.

“They all worked well in theirgroups and rehearsed prior to the showcase. I’m so proud of all the 28 students that took part and hope they will continue writing music together.”

Politics in spotlight as Highfields hosts its own election

Election frenzy hit Highfields when hundreds of students turned up to vote for the political party they would have liked to see running the country.

More than 830 students put their votes in the Ballot Box when the school staged its own election to mirror the General Election on December 12th.

Some students wore face masks of Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to cast their votes - with the results not matching the national picture of a Conservative victory.

Head of Citizenship, Mrs C Hartshorne, who organised the event, said: “This General Election really sparked interest among our students about their future and the future of the country.

“Although our mini General Election was much more light hearted than the real thing, it gave our students a chance to understand the process and vote for who they would have liked to have seen in charge following discussions about policies.”

Law teacher, Mrs N Allen, who supported the organisation of the event, said: “We started by asking for volunteers amongst Sixth Form students to see who would be willing to represent a party. “We had volunteers who all agreed to represent a political party and to help us to spread the message around school. 

“They all originally wanted to represent the same party - but agreed to play their part and put forward the views of all of the parties individually.

“We began doing the rounds in assemblies, with all year groups being given an overview of what an election involves and how results are decided, before the Sixth Form volunteers explained the key party policies to students. 

“On the day of the General Election, all year groups were given an opportunity to vote for whichever one they felt best suited their views with students engaging really well with the process.”

The results at Highfields were as follows:

• SNP - 6 votes - 0.7%

• Spoilt Ballots - 25 votes - 3%

• Lib Dems - 32 votes - 7%

• Brexit Party - 47 votes - 6%

• Green Party - 59 votes - 7%

• Conservatives - 118 votes - 14%

• Labour Party - 550 votes - 66%

Ding Dong Merrily On Highfields

Students celebrated the end of 2019 with a host of events, performances and activities, spreading festive cheer throughout the school and wider community.

Singers were in fine voice when they performed for shoppers at Co-op supermarket, in Penn, before entertaining residents at care homes in the region.

The festive ‘tour’ came after students showcased their singing and acting talents at an annual church carol service. St Bartholomew’s Church, in Penn, hosts the carol service for Highfields School students every Christmas. More than 20 talented singers performed Carol of The Bells, 1,000 Years and a selection of traditional Christmas carols before the congregation enjoyed mince pies and hot drinks.

Ms S Bishop, Highfields’ Head of Extra Curricular Performance, said: “The carol service really signals the start of Christmas and our students love getting involved each year.

She added: “Christmas is all about giving and sharing, so it is always important for us to get out into the community at this time of year. Our students put on some brilliant performances and really spread Christmas cheer across the Midlands.”

Talented students then showcased their impressive musical talents in a spectacular Christmas Concert to round off the term.

More than 100 musicians, dancers and singers helped to fill the school with festive cheer when they performed a host of Christmas classics and other well-known hits to a packed audience.

The school choir, flutists and ukulele players, as well as members of the strings group, rock bands and cast of the upcoming school production of Beauty and the Beast were among those who performed in the musical extravaganza.

Highfields also came alive with Christmas spirit when students and staff swapped their uniforms and suits for festive jumpers to help raise money for charity.

The school’s corridors and classrooms were brightened up with colourful jumpers featuring Rudolph, elves, and Santa Claus as Highfields came together to celebrate the festive season with a fundraising Christmas Jumper Day.

Each student and member of staff made a token donation to wear their Christmas jumpers to raise money for Save The Children.

The charity works to give children in the UK and across the world a healthy start in life, running world-class programmes to ensure they have a bright future. 

Headteacher, Mr G Tate, said: “Everyone got into the Christmas spirit by wearing their festive jumpers. It was a great way to round off the term whilst raising money for such a worthwhile cause.”

Once again, students got artistic as part of a competition to create the official Highfields Christmas card for 2019.

The competition was open to students in Years 7 and 8, with a cheery scene of a snowman playing on a swing of colourful fairy lights coming out in first place.

The Christmas card, created by Cam Chillingworth, was sent out in digital form to partnering organisations and Parents/Carers.

Ms J Parker, Head of Lower School, said: “We are always proud to add a personal touch to the school’s official Christmas cards by getting our students to design them. We run the competition annually for Year 7 and 8 students, and we were delighted to have received dozens of entries. They were a great standard but Cameron’s design is a worthy winner.”

Cameron said he was very pleased to have won the competition, and excited that his design had been used on behalf of Highfields.