Dear Students and Parents

As Spring gets under way we approach the Easter break with news of the various activities undertaken by students and staff. Thank you first to the Sixth Form who led our fundraising for Comic Relief which this year included the annual Wadstock performance showcasing our students’ many and varied musical talents. We are expecting our final total for Comic Relief to reach over £500. Thank you to everyone who contributed.

One of the highlights this term has been the production of Guys and Dolls. Many of you will have seen the report on the front page of last week’s Western Gazette with a fine picture of the cast in full song. Congratulations to all the students both on stage and back stage for the time and energy they invested in entertaining us so well. Thank you to the staff who made it happen and particularly to Mrs Morgan, Mrs Baker and Ms Middleton. As our new Music teacher I am particularly grateful to Ms Middleton for embarking on a whole school production during her first year with us.

Two weeks ago it was a privilege to attend the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Presentation Evening at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil. The guest speaker James Ketchell addressed a capacity audience and presented certificates to students from across South Somerset including 35 recipients of the Bronze Award from Wadham School. These students were from Years 10 and 11 and we hope many of them will now go on to complete the Silver Award. We also have arrangements planned for students to be able to achieve the Gold Award in the Sixth Form. Thank you to Mr Farmer who has led the work done to support students with the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and to the rest of the staff team involved. The Scheme is of great value in developing students’ team skills, resilience and ability to see a task through. I look forward to seeing many of this group of

Message from the Headteacher

1-2

Mobile phone use 3

Message from the Chaplain

4-5

Greenpower Project 6

Science Trip 7

Year 10 Trip to Cronites

8-9

Youth Speaks 9

Year 12 Trip to

Dawlish Warren

10

World Book Day 11

Duke of Edinburgh

Awards

12

Sport 13

Guys and Dolls 14-

15

Wadham Sixth 16-

22

Diary Dates 24

Inside this issue:

Wadham School

Wadham Words March 2017

Follow us on @wadhamschool and (www.facebook.com/wadhamschool) or via our website (www.wadham.somerset.sch.uk)

students receiving Silver and Gold Awards in the future. Well done everyone!

On Friday this week we are holding our Reward Assemblies for each year group when we recognise the achievement of students across all their subjects and in all other aspects of school life. Staff are asked to nominate in each subject the best piece of work produced and the hardest working student. Students receive a certificate and for each award receive a draw ticket. At the end of the assembly the draw is made for three cash prizes. Attendance is also recognised with the names of all those achieving 100% attendance going into a draw for the prize of a gift token.

Congratulations to the Year 10 Football Team who have won through to the final of the Yeovil District Cup and to the Year 9 Futsal Team who have reached the County finals! Very well done. We look forward to more news of success when the finals take place in April. It is hoped the Year 10 final will take place at the Yeovil Town Ground.

Year 10 and Year 12 geographers have been out doing field work this term. This is essential hands on learning and relates the work of the classroom directly to the environment. It feeds into students’ understanding of the work covered and provides information and data which are used in exam work in school. Thank you to Mrs Thomas and the Geography staff team and other colleagues who organized, led and supervised the fieldtrips.

Students had an opportunity to sample some of the latest virtual reality software being developed for educational use when Mr Tustin arranged for one of th companies testing their products to spend a day in school. Groups from across the years tried out the equipment for short periods to see how it can alter perspectives and give further insights into topics being studied.

We are coming to the end of the 4 week trial period of a shorter lunchtime. After Easter feedback will be collected and used as we look to September 2017 and consider any changes that might be made. I met with Student Council before the trial and will be meeting with them again after Easter as well as listening to the reflections of staff. If any parents would like to comment please write to me at school or email TSaunders@educ.somerset.gov.uk.

After the Easter Holidays the exam season will be quickly upon us. All of us here and at home will be encouraging our young people to plan well, work hard and achieve their best. Good planning will ensure there is time to relax as well as enough time to learn and revise for exams.

I wish you all a restful and enjoyable break and a very Happy Easter

David Derbyshire

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Mobile phone use in School

Mobile phones are an everyday part of our lives. But in the wrong context they can prove a major distraction.

Wadham’s code for their use reflects this:

Phones may only be used in lessons and tutor time when directed by the teacher.

If use is not directed by the teacher phones and any earphones or head-

phones must be silent and be in bags and not on the table or in pockets during lessons and tutor time.

Phones (and earphones/headphones) must be in bags between tutor time

and lesson 1, between lessons 1 and 2 and between lessons 3 and 4. Phones may be used at break and lunchtime.

If students do not follow staff instructions the phone may be confiscated

(‘Phone’ in the above refers equally to any electronic device)

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Easter Hope! On the 2

nd March, Lent began! Some of you will be

counting down to Easter and being able to have that ‘thing’ you gave up – chocolate, coffee, social media, meat or whatever it may have been. It can be a challenge to give things up and some of you may have slipped up along the way, but I hope many of you will have succeeded in keeping to the goal that you set out to achieve. At Wadham, we challenged the students to think differently about lent, rather than giving something up, we were encouraged to take up acts of generosity or random acts of kindness to bless our local community. Uptake for doing these things has not been vast, BUT I have had some great conversations with students, plus I have made a point of noticing some of the things they actively do for those around them. One student told me how they had been to the shops and on their way home, dropped the eggs they had bought. The student had two choices, to leave a mess on the pavement or to clean it up, they chose to clean it up. I also noticed the number of staff and students who supported their peers in coming along to watch the fantastic performance of ‘Guys and Dolls’, the same for Wadstock – this showed people giving up their own time, to support and encourage their friends and peers. This week, I have witnessed students supporting Red Nose Day. The 6

th Form have arranged various events to raise

money for this valuable and worthwhile cause – well done to the whole school community for coming together in support of this. Lent provides an opportunity to give things up and to take up acts of generosity, but it is so much more than that, it is a time of preparation and build up to the most important celebration in the Church calendar. For Christians, Lent provides an opportunity to remember the time Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by the devil, a time in which he was able to stand firm, despite everything that was being thrown at him. Lent continues into the school holidays to the point where, just before we return to school, literally hundreds of millions of Christians across the world, will remember the final week of Jesus’ life. Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday and Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, it then leads to Maundy Thursday, the eve of Jesus’ death and his being arrested, before his crucifixion on Good Friday and culminating in his resurrection on Easter Sunday. These events move from heartbreak and tragedy to hope and celebration. This week we have heard about and seen the terrible and tragic terrorist attacks in London and we once again question what is going on in our world. For many

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of us, the question being asked is, “Why?” Why would anyone seek to cause such destruction, hurt and fear? Why would they target ordinary people walking across a London bridge? Some of you will wonder how this can fit with a God who loves. There are no simple answers, but I believe Easter offers us glimpses of hope in the midst of tragedy. Easter reminds us of a time of utter confusion and mess, with an innocent man suffering the most brutal of deaths. On Easter Sunday things take an unexpected turn, Jesus comes back to life. In beating death, Jesus shows us that death is not the end, offering us an eternal hope… ‘For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life’ John 3: 16 May the risen Christ Fill you heart with joy Bring you new hope and Bless you with peace this Easter. Amen. Wishing you all a refreshing and blessed Easter break. Cheryl Govier (Chaplain)

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Greenpower Car Project 2016/17 On the 10

th March we had another productive workshop session at Maiden

Beech Academy. Both of the cars that the students are working on have the chassis complete with all welding being kindly carried out by one of our main sponsors, Wydale Plastics. This session involved the students fitting the wheels, brakes, and electrical systems. The build of both cars is taking longer than we had first anticipated, however, we have made some major changes to the design of the cars to increase the speed by reducing weight and improving aerodynamics. We will be holding our next sessions over the second week of the Easter holidays again at Maiden Beech Academy where we will have both cars up and running, ready to test drive. This will be followed by manufacturing the bodywork for each car. The students have been learning a great deal about the mechanical and electrical side of the car build and they are all very keen to have them running soon in preparation to race later in the year.

We have been very fortunate to have so much help and direction from Nick Clarke who is the main person behind setting up this fantastic project for our students. He has been working extremely hard outside of the workshop sessions ordering the resources and planning the workshop sessions. He has also been key to securing a number of large financial donations from very generous businesses and people within the local community. On the 10

th March

we were visited by Peter Singleton (Singleton Engineering) who presented a £1000 cheque on behalf of a very generous anonymous sponsor from the St Bartholomew’s Church community. This money will go a long way in ensuring the cars are finished to a high standard and are competitive in the races.

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Science trip

In March, Year 9 and 10 students embarked on what is now the annual trip to Colston Hall Bristol to see some of Britain’s leading scientists talk about their work and inspire the next generation to work in all aspects of science.

We saw presentations from Lord Robert Winston, Prof Alice Roberts, Prof Lucie Green, Dr Simon Singh and Prof Mark Miodownik. All of the presentations were riveting and captured the students’ imagination. Prof Miodownik talked to us about the need to recycle not just the big stuff but the elements that make up items like your mobile phone, which are rare and need to be used again. Prof Roberts widened our grasp on the idea of how we would prove evolution without the use of fossil records. She used images of fish and humans in utero to show that the developments of both foetuses are extremely similar with identical DNA being present in each species. Lord Winston inspired with his comprehensive knowledge and anecdotes of IVF and showed cutting edge videos and images that he and his team had taken over the 9 months that a foetus developed.

Jacob, one of our students, was lucky enough to get a question answered by Lord Winston. All the students felt that they had been privileged to have been able to listen to the passion and experience of the speakers for the day. Roll on next year!!

Simon O’Nions

CTL Science

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Year 10 French Trip to Cronite, Crewkerne Friday 10th March

On the 10th March, a group of Year 10 French students visited the Cronite

factory in Crewkerne. The purpose of the trip was to highlight the importance of speaking another language in the world of work and, since Cronite is a French-owned company, French is particularly important! On the trip, we were given an interesting behind the scenes tour of the factory (which manufactures Heat Treatment Furnace Equipment), where we were able to experience the manufacturing process from start to finish. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful and gave us the opportunity to ask questions about the business. Peter White, CEO, came to Wadham in the afternoon to consolidate what we had learnt in the morning. We are grateful to Peter and to all the staff at Cronite for giving up their time.

Phoebe Carpenter 10KEH

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Youth Speaks

Our Senior Team crossed the border into Dorset to compete in the regional semi-final of this year’s Youth Speaks competition. Unfortunately, they met with valiant defeat; in mitigation, however, I should say that they were opposed by much older teams in this age category. Michele Weston and I were proud of their bravery and optimism. We look forward to working with them in the future and hope that their success will inspire others to compete next year. Congratulations to Maddy Bennett (Chair), Luke Dowling (Speaker) and Jim Parham (Proposer). Mr D’Rozario

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Year 12 Geography Trip to Dawlish Warren

On Tuesday 28th March, our Year 12 geography class went to Dawlish Warren to carry out our physical fieldwork on sand dunes. We measured the height, density and variety of vegetation as well as the ph of the soil within many transects along the spit, hoping to prove our hypotheses which was the further inland you go, the denser the vegetation. We also looked at the varying geology along the coast and the coastal landforms such as arches and wave cut platforms which furthered our understanding on coasts.

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World Book Day

This year, our World Book Day celebrations centred on a very well-attended book quiz, organized by Mrs Weston, in the LRC. Some of the questions included:

“What is the first book in the Alex Rider series?”

“In The Hunger Games – which District are Katniss, Peeta and Gale from?”

“In Twilight, what is Bella’s surname?” (Answers at the end of this article.)

There were lots of correct answers which is always encouraging. It reminds us of the importance of regular reading for pleasure at home as well as at school. Habitual reading of various types will have multiple benefits when the exam season comes around for all students.

Our thanks go to Mr Derbyshire for leading the World Book Day assemblies and permitting our annual non-uniform day in support of Book Aid International which supports reading programmes in under-privileged countries.

So, now for the answers: Stormbreaker/District 12/Swan

Happy Reading over Easter!

The English Team

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Wadham Students recognised for D of E Awards

On Tuesday 32 students from Wadham School joined in a celebration of achievement at the Octagon Theatre in Yeovil at the South Somerset Duke of Edinburgh Award Presentation Evening.

Mr Farmer, the lead teacher for the DofE Award Scheme at Wadham enthused, “I am delighted with the growth of the award at Wadham from just a couple of students a few years ago to 10 last year and now 32 engaged in the programme. The scheme is great for confidence building and challenging the students. It’s also a great way for them to become involved in the local community. I am enormously proud of our students achievements.”

There are four elements to students attaining their Bronze award: volunteering, sport, learning a skill and the expedition. Mr Farmer reported that, “students have helped with charities, at care homes and at a museum, learnt skills from bell ringing to lifeguarding and taken part in a 15km trek and camping expedition in West Dorset. It’s been a fantastic experience for them and I see the scheme continuing to grow at Wadham.”

Honey Goddard loved taking part in the scheme. Her favourite element was the volunteering where she helped with the local Rainbows group to involve youngsters in cake making, singing and painting activities. She has been so inspired with the challenge of the DofE Award that she’s already setting her sights on attaining the gold award. This summer she plans to join a school building project in South Africa with the company Outpost to satisfy the expedition element of the award. Raising her own funding will be one of the biggest challenges to overcome.

The awards were presented by James Ketchell who gave an awe inspiring account of his unique “ultimate triathlon” to raise thousands of pounds for charities close to his heart; the first man to combine rowing across the Atlantic Ocean, climbing to the summit of Mount Everest and cycling 18,000 miles around the world. He congratulated all participants for their drive and determination in achieving their awards.

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FOOTBALL

The Year 9 football team have had a satisfactory season. A good county cup run ended unfortunately in the quarter-finals in a close defeat 3-2 against Churchill School (we deserved extra-time at least!). The area cup was a disappointment when we went out to a physical Ansford team but we have seen almost 30 different boys play for the school this term which has been good to see. Overall the boys can be pleased with their efforts.

The Year 9 Futsal team have done well to win the Area Cup going undefeated and now go through to the Somerset finals after Easter. Well done boys!

The Year 10 football team have had some very pleasing performances this year. Despite being unlucky to be knocked out of the County Cup on penalties they have won through to the final of the Area Cup with good wins over both Bucklers Mead and Stanchester producing some good football. The final will be played after the Easter holidays.

The year 11 football team have done well this year with some good early victories but then cup defeats to Castle School, Taunton, 2-0 (County Cup) and Preston School, Yeovil 2-1 (Area Cup) have prevented us from progressing through to the later rounds. However, in all games the team has showed good commitment and effort with some pleasing football.

Richard Pryor

Head of PE

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Madeleine, Tracey and Molly packing the lorry!

Guys & Dolls

This years production of Guys and Dolls delighted audiences earlier this term. The iconic Broadway show, based upon the writing of Damon Runyon, revolves around two parallel love stories, linked by a bet. Our cast brilliantly showed the two romances developing through the art of song, ‘dance’, comedy and sneezing. Showgirl Adelaide (Lauri Toogood) and gambler, Nathan (Merlin Forsey) our longtime engaged couple were finally wed and highrolling Sky (Will Skinner) actually turned out to be quite a nice guy and married Mission doll Sarah (Taryn White) after what seems to be only 2 days! Along the way we discovered that ‘crap’ is actually a game, archways turn into boats, people really do fly to Havana for dinner and strudel is more popular than cheesecake. Well in the alternate reality of a musical where it is completely normal to burst into song, anything is possible!

Our cast were brilliant, coping with 30 second costume changes, our slightly bonkers ideas (which they mostly went along with), learning a lot of songs, American accents, using torches whilst singing, wearing hats, quite a few stage kisses and an entirely new directing team. We were very proud of the cast and crew, whom everyone agreed were magnificent.

Miss Middleton, Mrs Baker and Mrs Morgan

(The creative team for Guys and Dolls)

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Wadham Sixth - Building Futures!

And so our busy, and ever eventful, year in the Sixth Form continues. Here are just a few of the fantastic things we’ve done…

Caren Forsey: KS5 Raising Standards Leader

Sixth Form Christmas Meal @ the Windwhistle: 13th

December 2016

Fifty-one festive fun seekers donned their best Christmas attire and attended the annual Sixth Form Christmas Dinner at The Windwhistle Inn near Chard. Tables were set with all sorts of festive goodies and students and staff enjoyed a meal followed by skittles. A lovely way to end our first term together.

The Panto: Friday 16th

December 2016

The Sixth Form Panto this academic year was a fantastic collaboration between Years 12 and 13, who put on their own small rendition of Shrek, the beloved children's classic about an ogre, who falls in love with a princess. Shrek was played by my fellow HST member, Archie Mitchell, Donkey was played by the president, William Skinner, with Fiona played by me, Jack Moore, and Isobel Rowe. Ollie Freeman continued the family tradition and played a great “Mr D’Rozario”. After some careful planning and an extensive training regime, we managed to somewhat master our lines and pull off this performance. I feel we have done the school tradition proud, something that will always be in the hearts and minds of everyone who was involved.

Jack Moore 13LEB

Somerset Tennis County Cup: Thursday 23rd

February 2017 The Somerset 18 & under girl’s tennis team and myself left for Sunderland on Thursday 23rd February, the journey took around 7 hours. We played 3 counties over three days: Berkshire, Durham & Cleveland and Herefordshire & Worcestershire. I was given the captains armband; which I was very happy about! On the first day we played Berkshire, we went 5-0 up, I played as number 1 for the team, my match lasted 2hrs 30mins, but luckily I won taking us 6-0 up, winning our doubles too meant we won overall 9-0! On the second day we played Durham & Cleveland. Again playing at position 1 I won my match, as did my fellow team members which gave us another 6-0 lead. Getting the job done in doubles again meant that we again won 9-0. The final day was the most competitive, as it was the battle for promotion for Somerset and Herefordshire & Worcestershire. Our players 6,5 & 4 once again won their matches, putting us in a good position; being 3-0 up. Our number 3 player had a real fight on her hands, but also came out victorious, along with me and our

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number 2 player, meaning we were 6-0 up. Sadly, my partner and I lost our doubles 7-6, 7-5, however we still won 8-1 overall. We were presented with a medal each from a representative from the LTA, and also gained the promotion into the upper division next year. Beth Lacey 12RKP

TeachFirst: Friday 24th

February 2017

On Friday 24th February, I took a train to Exeter to visit the University with the TeachFirst team. TeachFirst is a group of students, aged around 16-17, who are not usually given the option to experience these things, due to their background. As a group, we have already visited Bristol University and during the Easter holidays, we will embark on a journey to Oxford University for four days. During our visit to Exeter University, we were told a little about the application progress, the Russell Group and competitive universities. I'll admit that the campus tour was my favourite. I am looking forward to my trip to Oxford Balliol for 4 days in the coming weeks, where I will study Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

Becki Davies 12RGD

Auschwitz Visit: 1st

March 2017

See the full account by Paige Mariner 12RGD that follows directly at the end of the Sixth Form Diary.

Guys & Dolls: Wednesday 8th

– Friday 10th

March 2017

Performing in Guys and Dolls has to have been one of the best experiences of my life, and that's a big thing to say. The continuous enthusiasm and effort shown by all the cast and crew members made the experience so much more enjoyable. In the weeks running up to the show, rehearsals were tough and in all honesty, some of us really didn't think the show was going to go our way. But the extraordinary effort and dedication that the cast members put into making their characters their own, meant that we pulled it off and performed amazingly on all three nights. The shows themselves were outstanding and each night had its own little twist, with table cloths and glasses falling off tables on Thursday night and a coconut in a conga line on Friday. The enthusiasm of the audiences made

the shows even better and knowing that our performances were making them laugh made it worthwhile. Guys and Dolls has taught me a lot of things, including the benefits of team work and learning that a peck is in fact a unit of measurement and

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not a kiss. I have made so many good friends through this opportunity and I wouldn't change the memories and experience I have of it for the world.

Mollie Fry 12RGD

Come Dine with Me: Friday 10th

March 2017 On Come Dine with Me, we were tasked with doing a meal for the whole of Sixth Form and a certain amount of staff. We were all put into groups with certain

aspects to do like shopping for ingredients or cooking the food and the entertainment afterwards. It was a really enjoyable experience because the theme was Mexican food and so we got to try a lot of different things that most people hadn't made before. The starters were nachos and avocado on toast which both went really well. Then the mains were vegetarian fajitas, tacos and chilli con carne which was all made well and enjoyed by

everyone. Overall it was a fun day that everyone liked. Taylor Young 12LEB

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Google Virtual Reality Experience: Tuesday 14th

March 2017 On Tuesday the 16th of March, some people from Google

TM came to Wadham

for the day. They came to allow students to try the Google

TM Cardboard, an affordable

way to allow anyone with a phone to try a virtual reality experience. The Cardboard is a headset made of cardboard with two eye-holes with lenses in them that view a slot with your phone in. With this headset on, anything on your phone is now seen straight from your perspective. To make this experience work though special 360 degree photos have to be used so you can turn your head to look around the scene. Using this technology, students got to visit the bottom of the ocean, the Washington Monument, Angel Falls and even the moon. The experience was a bit on the surreal side but was a great opportunity for everyone involved and really opened up people’s views on how quickly technology is developing in both practical and entertaining ways. Tom Clark 12LEB

Stem Ambassadors building bridges at Greenfylde:

Thursday 16th

March 2017

Three Year 12 students went to Greenfylde First School to work with reception age children with an aim to engage more young people in science, technolo-gy, engineering and maths - STEM. We helped out during the school’s Engi-neering Week and made bridges out of various materials that were not only big enough but strong enough to hold 4 dinosaurs. This involved working with small teams of students, encouraging them to use teamwork and communi-cate their ideas.

Megan Butler 12LEB

UCAS HE Fair: Tuesday 21st

March 2017

On Tuesday 21st all of Year 12 took part in a UCAS Higher Education event in

Exeter. There were multiple university representatives who supplied plenty of information about their courses. It was a really useful and productive day and we were very glad we had the opportunity to be part of it.

Charlie Male/Jazz Smith 12RKP

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Wadstock: Wednesday 22nd

March 2017

Wadstock was a really fantastic evening for everyone involved and all of the audience, as they were exposed to the wide range of different music that students at Wadham performed; from the vibrant performance of the school punk band, to the delicate sound of the harp. I was really proud of everyone who took part, especially due to the fact that Guys and Dolls had just finished when we started preparing for Wadstock, and yet lots of the cast still ended up getting involved! It was a fun night for all who took part and we raised lots of money for Comic Relief, so in my opinion, the night was a huge success!

Will Skinner 13LEB

Comic Relief Week: Monday 20th

– Friday 24th

March

Throughout the week of 20th March, Wadham Sixth Form students

organised and carried out a range of activities to raise money for Comic Relief. On Monday, we hosted a bake sale. On Wednesday night we staged Wadstock; an evening of musical entertainment showcasing a huge range of student talent. On Thursday we sponged teachers in the rain! And on Friday, we held an 80s disco in the school hall to coincide with the national Comic Relief theme. By

the end of lunch Years 9 through to 13 were line dancing to the coolest tunes ev-er. We all had an enjoyable time raising the money, and as a group we managed to collect a sum of well over £200 that was then added to the non-uniform collec-tion pot.

Amy Gardiner 13LEB

A BIG well done to Will Skinner 13LEB for dancing all day on Friday for

£561.80 RAISED- WELL DONE EVERYBODY!

Also: Sixth Sense, the Sixth Form magazine, has another edition coming soon! Once again, Sixth Form students have come together and written a series of articles for the new edition. I have thoroughly enjoyed editing this and I know this ver-sion will be much bigger because there has been so much going on in the Sixth Form to talk about! It brings me joy that the magazine has another chance to shine.

Becki Davies 12RGD

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Lessons from Auschwitz

If you told almost anyone in the entire world that you were going to visit a place called Oświęcim they would likely be none the wiser when it came to understanding what you were really doing. Most would just consider it to be a place somewhere in the world that they didn’t care much for. This is the normal reaction, the expected reaction. However, if you used a different name for where you were going then the reactions would be vastly different. Oświęcim has a second name, one which carries meaning and understanding, one which is recognised by the masses, for the second name is Auschwitz. A large majority of people would find it bizarre that you wanted to visit what is essentially an execution site. Somewhere many of the estimated six million victims of the Holocaust lost their lives. But the ‘Lessons From Auschwitz’ Trust is aiming to make the Holocaust and those who lost their lives because of it a more understood topic. The aim of the LFA educators and the trust itself is to re-humanise all eleven million people who lost their lives, as eleven million is a simply unfathomable number. There were four parts to the project; orientation, the trip, the follow up seminar and finally next steps. The aim of the orientation was to first introduce the students taking part in the trip to what the Trust wanted them to get out of it; a wider understanding. The seminar began with facts and photographs demonstrating life before the war and the Holocaust for European and North African Jew’s, who were all affected. We also heard a survivor’s testimony from Holocaust survivor Mala Tribich. The aim of Mala’s testimony was to highlight life before the war and the lengths to which Jew’s would go to try and save their families from Nazi perpetrators. Mala’s testimony was an enlightening experience, one which made all those in the room feel the importance of living each day as if it is your last, for in the blink of an eye, that can all change. The next step was to go on the trip itself. Even being at Exeter Airport for 4:30am didn’t make it feel as if it was really happening. After a two-hour plane journey, we rode on a coach to the town of Oświęcim, more commonly known as Auschwitz. Here in the town we visited the synagogue and a Holocaust orientated museum which showed examples of Jewish businesses that had been set up before the war. Whilst driving a further ten minutes to Auschwitz I it became clear and that camps themselves were right in the middle of the town, and not separated from those who lived normal lives just outside the gates. Oświęcim was chosen since it had good transport links from other areas. Once we reached Auschwitz I we had a tour of the grounds and the barracks that had been renovated for public viewing. The fact that it all looked so neat and tidy made it hard to believe what had happened there. Whilst there we also saw the blocks where the monster Mengele worked and the one gas chamber that the camp had. One striking factor of the camp was that from the gas chamber itself you could look into the upstairs windows of Auschwitz kommandant Rudolph

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Höss, windows, were he and his young family lived. Astonishingly his wife later claimed she never knew what was going on inside the gates despite being within a hundred feet of it. After that we travelled to Auschwitz II; Auschwitz Birkenau. Two things that strike you immediately are both the size of the compound, for it is twenty times larger than Auschwitz I and the fact that normal life passes right past in the form of a main road, something many citizens would have to use to go about their daily lives. Whilst at the camp we looked around some of the sheds were prisoners were kept when they weren’t working. When walking alongside the train tracks you can see the sheer size of the compound for it extends as far as the eye can see. Once you reach the end of the train tracks you can see the memorial that has been built remembering all those who lost their lives there. Most of the buildings at Birkenau have been destroyed, this was the last thing the Nazi’s did before they deserted. They tried to eradicate all evidence that they had even been there, burning thousands of photos of prisoners and their belongings. In a renovated block at Birkenau there is a display that shows some of the photographs that survived the Nazi’s and tells the stories of the people who ended up there. At Auschwitz I, there is a book of millions of names. These are just some of those who were ruthlessly murdered by the Nazi’s. Many of those being sent to the concentration camps did not realise where they were being sent and this meant that they packed their belongings that they thought they would need, once they had a home somewhere new to live. At Auschwitz I there are numerous displays of belongings; there are enormous containers filled with; shoes, pots and pans, glasses, hair brushes, shaving brushes and most strikingly hair. In one of the exhibitions there is approximately two tonnes of hair, shaved off by guards as the prisoners arrived. One view adopted by the Trust is that the perpetrators should not be labelled monsters, as that gives an excuse for their actions and the way that they behaved. The official definition of the Holocaust says something along the lines of the attempted extermination of all Jew’s. The use of the word ‘attempted’ suggests that they were entirely unsuccessful, when in reality they murdered eleven million people, the majority of them Jew’s. The Trust also wants the other groups of people who lost their lives to be recognised; these groups include those who were disabled, mentally ill and individuals of a high intelligence such as doctors. As previously said the Trust’s main aim is to re-humanise the Jew’s. They successfully achieve this by showing photographs and video clips of Jew’s previously enjoying their lives. The visit to Auschwitz is not something many would embark upon, but I would recommend it if there was the chance because of the light it shines on those who fought for their lives and did everything they could not be beaten by those who wanted to destroy them. Paige Mariner

Page 23 Wadham Words

“The Gift” -“The Gift” is a modern sculpture made of glass re-enforced plastic. It was commissioned by the trustees of the Crewkerne Educational Foundation and given to Wadham School in 1986. It is the work of Michael Kempt. It declares the fact that Wadham is a Christian School, and that it should enhance the aesthetic appreciation and visual awareness of all who work at or visit the school.

The sculpture is a statement about the three great moments of Christ’s life: his birth, death and resurrection.

Wadham School

Phone: 01460 270123

Fax: 01460 270124

Mount Pleasant Crewkerne

Somerset

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April

Saturday-Sunday 1-9 Skiing Trip

Monday-Friday 3-14 Easter Holidays

Monday 17 Bank Holiday

Tuesday 18 Week A - Return to School

Tuesday 18 Yr 11 Pre Public Exams

May

Saturday-Sunday 1-9 Skiing Trip

Monday-Friday 3-14 Easter Holidays

Monday 17 Bank Holiday

Tuesday 18 Week A - Return to School

Tuesday 18 Yr 11 Pre Public Exams

June Monday 5

Week A—Return to school

Wednesday 14 Wadham Summer Concert 7-8.30pm

Monday-Friday

19-23 Yr 9, 10 & 12 Exam Week

Thursday 22 6th Form Leavers Day

Friday 23 6th Form Dinner Dance, venue TBC

Saturday-Sunday

24&25 DoE Practice Weekend

Monday 26 Yr 11 Dress Your Best Day

Wednesday 28 Yr 11 Prom, venue TBC

Thursday 29 Open Morning 9.30pm-12pm