12 Feburary 2008
For immediate use

Students in Hove receive funding for educational trip to Auschwitz

Celia Barlow local Labour MP for Hove, welcomed this week’s decision for the government to fund £4.65 million to the Holocaust Educational Trust.  A total of 4000 students from across the country will travel to Auschwitz in Poland, where expert guides and educators from the UK will show pupils around the site and let them see firsthand whre the horrendous atrocities occurred.

Celia Barlow MP said, “Teaching of the Holocaust is part of the curriculum in all secondary schools.  However, getting out of the classroom and being able to visit the places where historic events happened can be the best way to truly grasp the enormity of what occurred.”

Celia Barlow MP was due to visit Auschwitz with the Holocaust Educational Trust herself last year, but was unable to attend due to Parliamentary Commitments.

The visits include an orientation seminar beforehand and after the tour, where students hear testimony from an Auschwitz survivor.  On returning to their schools and local communities, students are required to disseminate what they have learned to their peers through a wide variety of activities and programs.  The Holocaust Educational Trust works in schools, universities and in the community to raise awareness and understanding of the Holocaust, providing teacher training, an outreach programme for schools, teaching aids and resource materials.