Lessons from Auschwitz
Modern Studies Essay- Writing Competition
Debating Success
December 2025
Lessons from Auschwitz
Written by Mr Moncrieff
As a school, we were delighted to have secured two pupil places on the Lessons from Auschwitz programme for the first time since 2019. In November, two Higher History pupils visited Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland with the Holocaust Education Trust, offering a life-changing experience for the two pupils, fully immersing themselves in the education of the atrocities of the Holocaust and the wider impact not just on the Jewish community, but the wider population of Europe. As part of the programme, the pupils will take a leading role in sharing their learning and lead Holocaust Memorial activities in January.
Modern Studies Essay- Writing Competition
The Modern Studies Association, in partnership with the Scottish Sentencing Council, recently ran an essay competition on the question“ Is sentencing in Scotland fair?” Following an excellent standard of entries from S4 – 6 pupils, the Modern
Studies department selected two essays for the national final. The winner of the national final will receive £ 100 and spend a day at Parliament House with one of Scotland’ s top judges. Well done to our finalists, and a huge thanks to everyone who took the time to engage in the competition.
Debating Success
We have a newly formed Debating Club, organised by one of our S6 pupils and facilitated in the History and Modern Studies department. The club hold in-school debates and look to compete in competitions against other schools. We have had recent success at the start of the month with senior pupils winning the‘ Cambridge Schools debating competition’.
We have also recently taken part in a Rotary Club speaking competition held at Belmont Academy. While we did not win the competition, pupils gave an excellent account of themselves, engaging in a debate surrounding where educational support should be directed.
Numbers for the Debating Club are increasing, and new members are always welcome. If you are interested, please speak to the Social Subjects department and you can be added to the club’ s Teams page.
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