Students at West Exe School, part of the Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust, have been taking part in a range of activities this week designed to have them learn more, and reflect on, the holocaust ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) on Saturday the 27th of January.  The 27th of January marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp and the theme of this year’s HMD is the fragility of freedom.

 The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust encourages remembrance in a world scarred by genocide, they promote and support Holocaust Memorial Day  to remember the 6 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, alongside the millions of people murdered under Nazi persecution of other groups and during more recent genocides. 

Throughout this week at West Exe School every student has attended an assembly on the significance of the Holocaust and genocide, based on resources and research from the Holocaust Education Trust.  Students also watched testimonies from survivors from not only the Holocaust but other genocides such as Rwanda and Cambodia.

 A group of students also took part in a live nationwide webcast organised by the Holocaust Education Trust and hosted by Natasha Kaplinsky OBE.  Holocaust survivor Hedi Argent MBE delivered a deeply profound testimony of her experiences under Nazi persecution in the late 1930s and students had the ability to ask Hedi questions through a live webfeed.

Hedi Argent was born in 1929, and lived in a suburb of Vienna in Austria, the anti-Jewish laws and backlash that accompanied Hitler’s annexation of Austria in 1938 were something Hedi remembers very well.  She remembers seeing Jews being made to scrub the pavements and having stones thrown at them. Hedi’s family arrived in England in 1939 and stayed in a safe house.  After the war, Hedi and her parents wrote to the Red Cross to try and find their extended family; they found out that most of their other family members in Europe had been murdered during the Holocaust.

In the centre of the school, the students are being asked to reflect on a visual representation of the proportion of people killed during the Holocaust, with symbols representing approximately 200,000 human lives. Students have been discussing the fact that it was not just the Jewish population who were persecuted during the Holocaust and were shocked at the total numbers of deaths.

To finish the week, Year 7 and 8 students are reflecting on individual experiences of Holocaust and they are researching and creating commemoration cards to be displayed around the school, in order to draw a more personal connection to the individuals who lost their lives. 

Julie Fossey, Headteacher at West Exe School said:

“I think it’s really important for young people to understand the history of the holocaust and to learn about more modern genocides.  Though these are difficult topics, it is right that we learn about them and take the time to hear the stories of those that survived these horrors.  There are not that many years left that children will be able to hear directly from a Holocaust survivor, so I am very grateful to Hedi Argent and the Holocaust Education Trust for making it possible for students to ask her questions.”

Moira Marder, CEO of the Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust said:

“Holocaust Memorial Day is such a powerful day of reflection and I am glad to hear that students at West Exe have been engaging in a number of topical and thought provoking activities in the run up to it.”

 

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Year 7 students from West Exe School, part of the Ted Wragg Trust, have recorded a Christmas jingle to be played on East Devon Radio this festive season.

The students will be spreading yuletide cheer across the airwaves after their jingle debuted on the local radio station this morning (13th December.)  East Devon Radio is a community radio station, based in Exmouth, the station was launched in 2006 coinciding with the Exmouth festival.

West Exe students also took part in Christmas Jumper Day on the 7th of December in exchange for a charitable donation and have also put on a Christmas concert with students singing a selection of festive carols.

Across the city at another Ted Wragg school, the Cranbrook Education Campus, pupils also took part in Christmas Jumper Day, and they have been collecting gifts to pass on to refugee families to make sure no child goes without a toy this Christmas.

The Cranbrook Education Campus hosts the EX5-Alive community hub which will be open on the 14th of December between 4.30pm and 6.30 pm and on the 21st of December between 10am and 12pm if anyone needs any support in the run-up to Christmas. 

Moira Marder, CEO of the Ted Wragg Multi-Academy Trust said:

“I am delighted to hear that West Exe students have recorded a festive jingle for East Devon Radio and look forward to hearing it throughout December.  I am also so proud of the work Cranbrook pupils have done to ensure that local refugee families have a Merry Christmas.  The Ted Wragg Trust wants every child we educate to leave us a compassionate and thoughtful individual and thinking of others is at the core of this.”

Published 15/12/23

Students from West Exe School, part of the Ted Wragg Trust,have taken part in a water safety training course this month, as have young people from Lipson Academy and Honiton Community College, which are also part of the Ted Wragg family of schools.

Four Year 9 Sports Leaders from West Exe undertook the water safety training course and they are now ready to deliver their first Water Safety session to the rest of the Sport Leaders team later this term. 

The students took part in the training by Surf Life Saving GB, a Search and Rescue charity with over 9,500 members who help to make our beaches safer and more enjoyable places for everyone.

There are Surf Life Saving GB clubs nationwide which train people aged from five years upwards in search and rescue, beach education, lifesaving, and fitness skills, helping to create fitter and safer communities by the sea.

Julie Fossey, Headteacher at West Exe School said:

“I am so pleased that our students have undertaken this water safety training and I want to say a big thank you to Surf Life Saving GB for running the session.  It’s so important for young people to be educated on how to interact with the sea safely so they can enjoy everything it has to offer and it’s brilliant that the students will now be passing this vital info on to their peers.”

 

Moira Marder, CEO of the Ted Wragg Trust said:

“Everyone at the trust is delighted that students from several of our schools have now taken part in this workshop with Surf Life Saving GB.  We are blessed to be surrounded by beautiful coastline in Devon and I want our young people to be able to enjoy it safely and sensibly.”

Published 22/11/2023

Lucky students from West Exe School, part of the Ted Wragg Trust, got to visit the Roman baths in Bath last month.

44 students who are studying GCSE Classics & Latin Elective participated in a tour of the baths, as well as taking part in an interactive session called “Understanding Aquae Sulis.”  The session explores the variety of Latin inscriptions from the tombstones and altars found in Aquae Sulis. 

Students collaborated and shared ideas as they deciphered the Latin tombstones and learned more about the lives of the people behind the language. The session also included the opportunity for the students to handle Roman artefacts associated with the layout and function of the bathhouse and the settlement of Aquae Sulis as a whole.

The Roman baths are where the people of Roman Britain came to worship the goddess Sulis Minerva and bathe in the waters of the natural thermal springs, which still flow with hot water today.  

Modern day visitors can explore the complex, walk on the original Roman pavements, and view the ruins of the Temple of Sulis Minerva. The museum located at the baths includes a gilt bronze head of the Goddess Sulis Minerva, and other Roman artefacts.

Julie Fossey, Headteacher at West Exe School said:
“We are part of the Latin Excellence Programme, reintroducing Latin to state schools around the country.  I would particularly like to thank them for providing the full funding for this trip. I know that all the students really enjoyed their trip to the Roman baths and deciphering tombstones was a great way to develop their Latin skills!  I am so proud that we have so many students studying classics and Latin as these are subjects of both cultural and academic significance.”

Moira Marder, CEO of the Ted Wragg Trust said:
“Everyone at the trust was pleased to hear about this educational trip to Bath.  It’s brilliant to hear about students getting out and about and embedding their knowledge through activity-based learning.”

 

Published 10/11/23