Date: 13/11/2020

By Alan Hardie, CEO at NCEA Trust.

I hope that you like our new look version of LIGHThouse. As I mentioned last week, we are working hard to be as effective as possible in the way we communicate with our wider community, so any feedback using the Marketing email address is very welcome.

As you will see in this edition, there is a focus on Remembrance events. Some of the worst aspects of the coronavirus restrictions in schools is not having the usual opportunities to come together to mark important occasions. One of my most memorable experiences last year was seeing pupils at the Josephine Butler Campus coming together in the Atrium for Remembrance. Well over 1200 people in one small area, observing two minutes of absolute silence to commemorate those who gave their lives to keep us free.

This year, all of our Remembrance activities had to be scaled back to meet the restrictions in numbers in the ‘bubble’ system. However, they still took place and the pupils were reminded of the sacrifices of those from their local communities. As time moves on further and further from the horrific events of the two world wars, I believe that it is more important than ever that schools play their part in educating pupils about the losses to our communities in these wars, and all the conflicts since. For people of my generation, this was more straightforward; both my grandfathers, who had fought in World War Two, were still alive when I was at school and I heard directly some of what they had experienced. Some of my family are from Jersey and I actually heard first hand about wartime life in the Channel Islands, the only part of the British Isles which was invaded and occupied by the Germans in World War Two.

With only a few of those who served in World War Two alive today, children won’t have the same opportunities to find out first hand from those who served our country so well and at such a cost. Making our Remembrance events a key part of school life and educating pupils about the two world wars in their lessons are vital, ensuring that each new generation recognises and honours the sacrifices of previous ones. We can all be proud of how well our pupils have commemorated Remembrance at each school and campus despite the current restrictions.