Incredible experience to kick off new academic year
Staff at Rydal Penrhos have organised a memorable learning experience for Year 10-13 pupils to kick off the 2022/23 academic year in style.
The school will be embarking on a four-day trip to Poland next month, which is especially relevant for pupils who hold or aspire to hold positions of leadership at Rydal Penrhos and in the future.
This excursion was also arranged to benefit pupils who study History and those with a keen interest in politics and world affairs.
Pupil and staff will be staying in the picturesque city of Krakow, with an abundance of activities scheduled throughout. These include a coach trip to Auschwitz, where they will be given a guided tour of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, which is sure to be thought-provoking and emotional in equal measure.
Auschwitz-Birkenau opened in 1940 and was the largest of the Nazi concentration and death camps. Initially serving as a detention centre for political prisoners, it evolved into a network of camps where Jewish people and other perceived enemies of the Nazi state were exterminated, often in gas chambers, or used as slave labour.
Another exciting element of the trip will be a tour of the famous Wieliczka Salt Mine, which dates back to the Middle Ages when it was proudly named the Magnum Sal – the Great Salt.
In the 13th century, it was known as the largest source of salt in Poland. Over the years it became crucial for the country’s economy and is not a popular tourist attraction thanks to its immense size and rich history.
Pupils will also get the opportunity to visit the Schindler Museum situated at his former factory, which was the famous site of Oskar Schindler’s remarkable movement to save Jews from the atrocities inflicted by the Nazis during World War II.
Under the cover of his enamel factory, he hired more than 1,000 Jewish workers and saved them from a grisly fate in the concentration camps. The site is now a historical museum that hosts exhibitions that provide an insight into life during the war.
Those on the trip will also go on a four-hour guided tour of Krakow, which includes visiting the castle situated in the city and the cathedral that is nothing short of jaw-dropping.