Day 4 and 5

And so we have come to the end of our trip, everyone has returned safely and begun to settle back into a slightly cooler and damper British climate!

On Day 4 our students have been exploring the centre of Krakow, Cultural Capital of Poland. This has been a great chance to collect some souvenirs and take photos of the stunning architecture, as well as sample some of the local activities such as the market at the Cloth Hall in the Main Square, and the beautiful St. Mary’s Church. We were also privileged to see a musical parade performed by local groups in traditional dress. At the same time local rival football clubs “Wisla Krakow” and “KS Cracovia”, as well as the National Polish team, gained new supporters as many of the lads will be returning with supporters shirts. These will all be worn on Tuesday at college as well as being worn on the way home.

Day 5 was a fairly straightforward day with a coach ride to the airport and a smooth process through the airports and onto the flight. And despite returning to a much more windy country than we left, everyone was in high spirits. Our students were praised by airline staff for their conduct and for being the best group they’ve ever had onboard, so well done to everyone.
And a special well done to all our students for whom this was only their second flight – the first being getting to Poland 5 days ago!

We will be posting photos and updates throughout the remaining week until our students leave for a relaxing summer break, we hope they go with fond memories of Krakow and History at SJR. A final farewell to Jess and Jenny who are sadly leaving to go off to university. Good luck with your studies and keep in touch.

MH, EH and Rebecca.

Day 3

An indescribable day at Auschwitz concentration camp, seeing both sites at Auschwitz and Auschwitz Birkenau. We thought we’d let our students share their thoughts and feelings.

“Being there helped us to see things in a more realistic way, rather than just using pictures in class” – Sophie.

“The guides were very informative and helpful” – Jacob.

“I didn’t really understand exactly what conditions were like before today, but seeing it really helped me learn more about what it was like for people” – Kevin.

“I didn’t realise how big it was, I only realised when I was standing there the size of the camp” – Frankie and Daniel.

“The site was very peaceful and still, despite the awful events that took place there” – Megan.

“It really opened my eyes to the conditions people endured” – Rob.

“I think that you have to go there to really see what it was like” – Nathan.

“It was overwhelming and very difficult to describe without being there. – Heather and Riah.

“An experience that can’t be captured just with photographs” – Aidan.

“It was an unforgettable experience” – Heather.

“Pictures don’t do justice to the suffering people experienced” – Rhianne.

” Very difficult to describe to anyone” – Katie

“It was very intense, difficult and numbing” – Niamh

“It’s hard to comprehend just how many people died there, it was very surreal” – Abigail.

Day 1 and 2

Well hello everyone,

Day 1 was a very busy day, and a long one but everybody got here and made the most of it. Our students have been exemplary in their conduct around the city and made the most of the many cultural opportunities they have had so far.

And so Day 1 brought us a safe landing in Krakow and a visit to the ‘Museum of Krakow under Nazi Occupation’ based in Oskar Schindler’s factory and where parts of the film “Schindler’s List” were filmed. We received a guided tour and saw displays about Krakow before the war and under occupation, the lives of occupants and also the experiences of those forced to live in the Krakow Ghetto.

Photos of the days should appear below…..

Day 2 has not been as long a day but has been hotter with the sun out and temperatures at 32 degrees!! We began with a guided tour and history of the city of Krakow taking in sights such as the castle, market square and cloth house, the Jewish quarter where other parts of “Schindler’s List” were filmed.

After a sit down lunch in a local cafe (in the shade!!) we progressed to the Galicya Jewish Museum which told the stories and history of Jewish culture in Krakow, and how it still exists today. This was followed by a workshop session about individuals and the stories of those involved in the Holocaust. The afternoon was closed by a powerful testimony from a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp. Everyone was moved by what proved to be a very thought provoking lesson about events and experiences, and the ways in which so many lives were affected.

We also have pictures from Day 2 which we will be blogging and you can also see them through our twitter feed which is linked to this page.

There will be more tomorrow.

MH.

The Dark Charisma of Hitler

On Monday a new BBC series begins focussing on the personality of Hitler and how he managed to rise to become the leader of Germany. This will be really useful for AS students studying this after Christmas and A2 students for your re-sit modules. It will also be useful for background information to support coursework. The link is here, and it can also be found on the BBC iPlayer.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01p01pm/The_Dark_Charisma_of_Adolf_Hitler_Episode_1/

Definitely tune in…

Kolberg clip

A2 students,

Here is the link for the clip from the film Kolberg from today’s lesson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=N9A-EzmZL7w&NR=1

Welcome

Welcome to the A-Level History blog for students at St. John Rigby College.

You can use this blog to find advice and information about your course, read posts from your teachers about the topics you study and engage in online discussions with the class. You can also link to our twitter feed by clicking the link and link to blogs from other subjects at the college.

Thanks,

Matt, Elliott, Andrew