On Tuesday 27th January, Bradfields Academy contributed to the Medway service for Holocaust Memorial Day in Rochester Cathedral. Also in attendance were The Worshipful the Mayor of Medway Cllr Trevor Clarke, Vince Maple (Leader of Medway Council), The Bishop of Tonbridge, Medway Interfaith Action Forum, Medway Youth Council and other schools and groups.
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The presentation by Bradfields was called “Who Tells Your Story?” Inspired by the national theme of “Bridging Generations”, we created a group which literally spanned 5 generations. Following an introduction from one of our Year 10 students, we heard from Pam Ives (the grandmother of one of our Teaching Assistants), who spoke about her memories of World War 2 and how she knew a girl in school whose grandparents lost their lives in a concentration camp.
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We were joined by Councillor David Wildey and Mrs Hitchings, who used to teach History at Bradfields. They spoke about the importance of sharing stories like Pam’s so that we can ensure we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. We were also joined by Mrs Hyett, whose daughter is in Year 7 at Bradfields. She spoke about her determination to protect her family and how she hopes they will never be parted by a situation like the one Pam lived through. Finally, we heard from Mrs Hyett’s daughter. She spoke about her hopes for the future and how we will do better than the past.
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Throughout our presentation, a fabric “bridge” inspired by the HMD Trust logo spanned from speaker to speaker. At the end of the piece, the “bridge” folded together, bringing our oldest and youngest speakers side by side.
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We are immensely proud to be a part of this service each year, and more so this year, as it marked our 10th contribution.
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We look forward to marking this important event for the next 10 years!
