Religious Studies

Visiting Poland

Day 1

Poland has been the highlight of the school year so far. On the first day when we arrived we went on a guided tour around the city of Kraków. We saw the Jewish quarter, Schindler’s Factory, the remains of the Jewish ghetto and a massive bridge. Visiting the ghetto remains and memorial statues helped us all to understand the work we did in Year 9 on the Holocaust. After Mrs Porter nearly had a panic attack getting us all on the tram, most of us headed to McDonald’s where we ate a well-earned meal! #onlyinpoland Phoenix Khan 10D & Katie Couriel 10B

Schindler’s Factory

Day 2

On our second day in Poland we went on a guided tour around Auschwitz. The experience was eye-opening for everyone and helped us to understand the enormity of what happened. A particularly moving part of the tour was when we visiting the section where all the hair, shoes, pots, pans and glasses of the victims of the Holocaust were kept. We also went to the second camp, Auschwitz Birkenau, where we saw the famous track where the train would bring people into the camp. The day in Auschwitz left everyone with a new sense of gratitude for the lives we live today Vicky Kettle 10E

The train tracks at Auschwitz Birkenau

Day 3

We had a very early start to this adventurous day of visiting the salt mine and having an inspiring talk from a holocaust survivor. As we descended down many stairs, many many stairs (singing Jerusalem all the way!), we finally reached our destination, the top of the salt mine. We saw old tracks which the miners used to transport the salt and heard many stories about the mine and how it originated. We saw magnificent structures made purely out of salt. It was really eye opening and interesting to find out about the history of this mine. We even managed to try the self-sanitising salt and it, to say the least, tasted salty. We then had a long walk to our next destination which was a museum dedicated to buildings and places where Jews would live and go; however it also showed the other side of the Holocaust and modern neo-Nazi groups today. It was really eye opening to see the horrors that still go on today in Poland. Our group then had an inspiring talk from a Holocaust survivor and, even though we were all tired from our early start, her story was really interesting and we all gave our undivided attention. I really enjoyed the whole trip and this day stood out because it was very moving. Anaya Jesani 10B

The chapel deep underground in the Salt Mines