Poland

On Thursday 25 May a group of Year 10 history students met at school at 5am to head on a three day trip to Poland. We flew from Luton to Katowice on a 2hr 30min flight, arriving in Poland at 12pm. Our first outing, into the town centre of Krakow, started as soon as we dropped our bags off at the hotel. Krakow is a beautiful city, with a massive 200m x 200m city square. We spent half an hour roaming before we rushed to catch our coach to the infamous salt mines of Europe, they were huge! This hidden underground world included, to our surprise; a playground, chapels and various shops where you could purchase refreshments.

The second day started with a walking tour of Krakow, growing our knowledge of the city. On our visit to the Jewish quarter, we saw many of the intricate details that made the city unique. A lot of things had been destroyed during the war, but the architecture that had been preserved provided a great link to the history of the area. After lunch at the hotel, we made our way to Auschwitz.

I think it is safe to say that the impact of visiting Poland’s largest concentration and death camp hit every single person on the trip. Everyone was emotionally impacted by the visit, with emotions ranging from disgust of the camp’s history through to sadness and utter shock. It is a place that had the power to leave all in complete silence, as it did, on the coach journey between the concentration and death camps.

A special thank you should be made to Mrs Barnett, who paid special tribute to all those that died during the holocaust through reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish, a special Jewish prayer to remember lost loved ones. It was an extremely touching sermon, that was felt by many girls and teachers on the trip.  Our experience in Auschwitz will never be forgotten.

The third and last day took us to Schindler’s factory, we were split into groups, and shown around the amazing museum, which preserved the remarkable, life-saving acts of Schindler. Following this we headed for Lunch, which consisted of massive pizza breads (something we couldn't go home without trying). Our trip had come to an end and we reluctantly arrived back at school at 9 pm.

The trip was amazing and I would recommend the experience to anyone, the only downside being that it was so short! Thank you to Mr Bird for organising it and thank you to all the teachers who came along!

Malika Patel & Amy Hamill