Programme

The programme champions the human spirit and all the good that humans can achieve and the opportunity for students to hear survivor testimony direct from visiting speakers has proved inspirational, whilst respectfully recognizing the past and exploring current horrors that mankind is capable of. 

We challenge our students to be responsible, informed, empathetic and engaged global citizens—and the HGP allows us the scope and flexibility to incorporate responsible, age appropriate, differentiated, pastorally supported and innovative teaching and learning opportunities – such as Sixth Form participation in the Holocaust Education Trust’s ‘Lessons from Auschwitz’ project, workshops on the genocides in Rwanda, Bosnia and the situation in countries recognised on the genocide watch list. We have fostered extraordinary links with organisations such as the USHMM, Aegis Trust, Most Mira and SURF and a variety of high profile public figures who support us in providing unique learning opportunities which are holistically focused, academically vigorous and authentically interdisciplinary. We therefore provide ECM days that enrich the programme in collapsed timetable days with guest speakers, a student reading and discussion group as part of our after-school provision, student, parent and community evening events alongside regular schemes of work within the traditional school curriculum. 

A consequence RWBA has established a nationally and internationally recognised programme and in 2012 became an Institute for Education ‘Beacon School’ forming 22 partnerships with local and national secondary schools – thus RWBA and this collaborative, illuminating programme is at the forefront of shaping future Holocaust and Genocide Education in UK schools and beyond. As a Beacon School we share best practice through CPD, both internally and externally, and disseminate resources and pedagogy in journals and at conferences. Our students both inform and benefit from this process through a variety of visits, workshops and innovative opportunities. 

RWBA contributed to the 2014 Prime Ministers Commission call for evidence – report features on the website – and was mentioned in the subsequent report and recommendations published in Jan 2015. Since publication of the Commission’s report, RWBA Lead Practitioner Miss Wetherall has been appointed to the subsequent UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation’s Educational advisory group and continues to actively engage a range of politicians, public figures and organisations to work towards the fulfilment of the Commission’s recommendations and to champion the provision and experience of every child to have outstanding Holocaust education, genocide prevention and human rights teaching and learning in schools across the country. 

Follow the unique work of RWBA’s HGP via twitter:  @RWBAHolocaust 

‘Whilst our unique HGP programme is not designed to specifically be an academic course – but rather takes a holistic approach – we do vigourously quality assure the programme, both internally and with external verification. In addition we track the shift in student knowledge, attitude and behaviour, pre and post participation with a range of strategies, including an online multiple choice survey – trend data finding can be found here, along with the 2014-2015 Year 9 cohort pre and post reports. This offers in depth impact evaluation of the programme and shapes what it looks like year on year as we adapt and look to improve, innovate and inspire. 

Please see the link to our HGP leaflet that will further inform you of the programme. 

Click here for Summary findings:  
UCL Beacon School Quality Mark re-accreditation review 
Royal Wootton Bassett  
January 24-27 2022