The annual RS department Holocaust education trip to Amsterdam returned to Watford on Saturday night. Expertly organised, as ever, by Mrs Smith, 40 girls threw themselves into an incredibly busy itinerary. Over four days, the girls visited the concentration camp at Ameersfort, embarked on an epic walking tour of the Jewish Quarter and visited the Portuguese Synagogue. Girls paid their respects to victims at the Auschwitz memorial and took the train to Haarlem to learn about the amazing bravery of Corrie Ten Boom. They experienced the Jewish Museum and the memorial to homosexual victims of the Holocaust before having a tour of the Anne Frank House and taking part in a workshop there. There may also have been some shopping time!!
Chair of Governors, Fiona Shore, who joined the trip for the 16th time, said, ‘ I am certain that this trip will prove to be amongst the highlights of the girls’ time in School. I am pleased and proud to have been part of it and thank the staff for all they did to make it such a success; the advance planning and the care they took of us all. I cannot help reflecting on how fortunate we are to have teachers who are prepared to offer our students this sort of opportunity. It is exhausting even to look back on how much we packed into the four days. The girls learnt about so much more than the Holocaust. They learnt about Amsterdam, about European culture and about themselves. I was impressed by their behaviour, by their knowledge and by their capacity to have fun – even in the pouring rain!’
