Beyond the classroom

Claremont staff and students explore the rich history of Berlin 

Claremont High School has long been an advocate of experiential learning, or ‘learning by doing’ - engaging students in hands-on experiences and reflections, connecting the knowledge they’ve gained in the classroom to real-world situations. The annual A-level History trip to Berlin, which has been running since 2012, is a perfect example of this. Its purpose is to enhance the pupils’ study of ‘The Making of Modern Britain from 1951 to 2007’, which includes a unit on foreign policy, the Cold War and the development of Europe. 

The focus of the trip is much wider than that, though. Through the places visited in Berlin, the History Department aims to show the students some of the key moments of the twentieth century. The itinerary includes: 

• A visit to Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where the Nazis imprisoned over 220,000 people between 1933 and 1945, half of whom died. (The camp was then used by the Soviets between 1945 and 1950 to imprison a further 60,000 people, 12,000 of whom died.) 
• A visit to the Holocaust Memorial to learn the history of the Holocaust.
• A visit to the DDR Museum to learn about everyday life in Communist East Germany. 
• A visit to the Stasi Museum to see how the secret police tried to control the population of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. 
• A visit to the Berlin Wall Memorial on Bernauer Strasse to learn about the construction of the wall in 1961 - how it divided Berlin for 28 years, and how it fell one night in November 1989. 
• A walking tour of Berlin to explore some of the sights of the city, including the TV Tower, the Berlin Cathedral and The Empty Library on Bebelplatz, which commemorates the Nazi burning of books in 1933 and the Humboldt Forum. 
• Pupils also had some free time to visit a museum of their choice on the famous Museum Island. 

With such a busy schedule, it’s remarkable the group from Claremont found time to do anything else, but much fun was also had, including bowling, ice skating and trying lots of amazing food and doughnuts!  

‘The trip was an eye-opening historical experience beyond the classroom and every corner of Berlin had a piece of history you would never have imagined,’ reflects Year 12 student Rida Ikram. 

‘It was an excellent trip,’ agrees Tyler Giddings-Crocker, also in Year 12. ‘We learnt so much about Germany and the Holocaust, which we will carry with us. By the end we were all friends and loved every second.’ 

And it wasn’t just the students on whom the trip made a lasting impression… 

‘Taking our sixth-form History students to Berlin was such a rewarding experience,’ says Ms Kennedy, ‘from exploring historical sites to visiting museums and taking part in activities, it was fantastic to see them learning so much and engaging with the city’s history - and enjoying themselves along the way! It was lovely to see our pupils getting to know each other outside the classroom and building confidence about travelling abroad. Hopefully they’ve all made great memories to look back on for years to come. I know I have!’ 

‘We hope the students had fun, learnt how great (and easy) travelling is, developed their self-confidence and independence, and learnt more about some incredibly important history,’ adds Mr Burns. 

Judging from their enthusiastic response, they certainly did, and many an intrepid explorer and future historian was born on the Berlin trip… Where will Claremont take you tomorrow?