PUPILS at a York secondary school remembered the Holocaust.

Normal lessons were put on hold at Millthorpe School in South Bank as students in Year 9 undertook a whole day devoted to remembering the Holocaust. The rest of the school attended dedicated assemblies, as the school joined thousands of people across the country in marking Holocaust Memorial Day.

Ruth Lingard, head of history, said: "As subsequent genocides have shown, persecution did not end with the overthrow of the Nazi regime so although it is 70 years since the end of World War II, it has never been more important for students to learn about and reflect upon these dark episodes in history.”

The students were given special lessons run by the history, RE and modern languages departments to help understand the Holocaust and its impact and to consider what they can do in their own lives to tackle racism and intolerance.

At the end of the day, students wrote their reflections on luggage tags, which were hung on a memory tree in the school reception, part of the theme for this year, chosen by the event’s organisers, the Holocaust Memorial Trust, of ‘keeping the memory alive’.

Head teacher, Trevor Burton, said: “This is another great example of our students learning something that will help them gain a better understanding of the world and their place in it; school is not just about passing exams, important as that is."

Year 9 pupil, Owen Burroughs, said: "The event really opened my eyes and has made me learn how in order for us to keep moving forward as a society we must learn to keep society tolerant of all people and speak out when things become wrong."