Imperial War Museum trip
Human thought, emotion, and behaviour is critical to war.
Our year 9s had the opportunity to visit the ‘War and Mind’ exhibition at the Imperial War Museum in London which explores the wars of many psychological dimensions, from the First World War to the present day. The students learnt about what motivates people to start and support wars? How do humans think, feel and act during conflict? How do we make sense of the devasting conflicts that have shaped out world?
During their tour the students were asked to write an answer to the question – Why is it important to keep learning about the Holocaust?
Students wrote their answers on cards, some of which you can see below, and show deep thought and maturity from our brilliant year 9s.
“Going to the Imperial War Museum was a good experience. The Holocaust section was quite upsetting as you saw old film clips of what had taken place and it was really sad. I liked seeing all the different uniforms and weapons on display as being a Marine Cadet I am really interested in that part of our history.” Adam in year 9
“It was really interesting and I liked seeing all the displays, especially the weapons and uniforms, as well as learning more about WWII and Germany at that time. It was a really good day.” Freddie in year 9
Holocaust talk by the Generation 2 Generation organisation
We would like to say a heartfelt thank you to Peter Kammerling, from the Generation 2 Generation organisation, who gave a superb talk to our year 9s ensuring the continuation of the Holocaust testimony.
Adam said: “I thought the speech about the Holocaust was very moving and upsetting, but also very interesting to hear about Peter Kammerling’s family story.”
Aliyah said: “I thought that the speech really helped me understand the effect on society. Peter Kammerling’s family experience in the Holocaust was truly moving and made me feel empathy for all of those innocent victims of the horrendous event.”
Miraj said: “The speech was really moving and helped me gain a further understanding about the Holocaust and the atrocities faced at that time.”
Women’s History Month – March 2025
To celebrate Women’s History Month the history team delivered an inspiring and informative presentation to all our DHS students during assemblies.
They spoke about women throughout history, including Boudica, the leader of the Iceni tribe who joined other tribes to rebel against the Roman Conquest of Britain. Also, Aspasia, one of the most influential women of the 5th century and teacher to Socrates.
They went on to speak about the decline of female power which coincided with the growth of Christianity in Europe. Eve corrupted Adam and was responsible for humanity being thrown out of the garden of Eden.
Also, at this time there was inadequate medical and scientific knowledge as it was believed that a women’s mind must be weak because their bodies changed more than a man’s, and the growth of superstition and paranoia around the potential power of women grew. This led to women being banned from studying due to the need to control them.
As the role of women changed through the course of history we saw the birth of feminism with the first wave in the 1860s to 1930s, the second wave in the 1960s to 1970s, and the third wave continues to the present day. Feminism means:
Complete equality between genders.
What it is NOT…
is taking power away from men or being ‘man haters’
Why does any of this matter?
- Ignorance breeds intolerance
- Low expectations for girls in terms of careers and life choices but high expectations for girls in terms of appearance and behaviour
- Women are still treated unequally in many different ways …
The safety of women
Fact: The police receive a domestic abuse-related call every 30 seconds.
Yet it is estimated that less than 24% of domestic abuse crime is reported to the police.
Fact: 1 in 4 women in England and Wales will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime.
Fact: 41% of UK girls aged 14 to 17 in an intimate relationship experienced some form of sexual violence from their partner.
Fact: On average, one woman is killed by an abusive partner or ex every five days in England and Wales.
| Sport By the age of 14 girls drop out of sports at twice the rate of boys due to several factors, such as social expectations, lack of investment in quality programmes, and more. Huge pay gap- tennis is the only sport that pays winners the same | Work Globally 42% of women are in work compared to 72% of men. Only 52 female CEOs running the Fortune 500 companies. |
| Politics Until December 2016, there had been fewer female MPs ever than there were men sitting in the House of Commons, at any one time. Following the 2024 general election, 263 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons (40%) are held by female MPs. | Legal rights There is a growing trend globally of restricting a female’s right to choose and make decisions that affect her own body. 41/50 US states have abortion bans in place. 12/50 states have a complete and total ban on abortions. |
Women’s history month is more about the future than it is about the past. It is a celebration of women’s contributions to society, so that we can better contribute to the future. It is a celebration.
