Beacon School Status

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Lawrence House School are over the moon to have been 1 of 17 schools in the country who were successful on their application to work towards becoming a UCL Beacon School 19/20.

We can now confirm that we have successfully obtained Beacon School status (February 2020).

Every year the University of Central London recruit secondary Schools in England who are committed to enhancing teaching and learning about the Holocaust.   UCL Beacon Schools in Holocaust Education will become dynamic hubs serving a network of local schools and will partner with the Centre to improve teaching standards, raise pupil achievement, and strengthen SMSC (Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Education) provision.

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Holocaust Education: Inspiring Empathy and Critical Thinking for Children in Care

Our cohort of learners is unique in that we educate children in care – many of whom are living with trauma.  We aim to use holocaust education to inspire and to build empathetic responses. The embedded message of our Holocaust education package is surviving after survival which is very relevant for our young people.    The Holocaust reveals the full range of human behaviour, from appalling acts of hatred to extraordinary courage which raises profound questions about the human condition, making Holocaust education ideal for stimulating independent enquiry across a whole range of key stages and subjects.  Teachers empower their learners with deeper knowledge and the capacity for more critical thinking, so they can better understand why and how the Holocaust happened, are able to draw their own conclusions, and are less exposed to manipulation by those who use the Holocaust for their own social or political agendas. Importantly, we encouraged students to explore the nature of evidence and how we know what we know.

Over the upcoming year, we will be further embedding Holocaust education into our core curriculum, increase expertise and teaching standards to an outstanding level and promoting the UCL CPD Day open to all qualified teachers (and TA’s is appropriate) in the surrounding area.  The day focuses on classroom practice, with practical activities and engaging resources that develop young people’s understanding.  They cover essential aspects of effective teaching and learning about the Holocaust through a range of interactive workshops, all responsive to real-life classroom contexts: