OKEHAMPTON College student Hayley Freeston writes about an upcoming college trip to the site of one of the worst atrocities in the 20th century:

THE 70th anniversary of Auschwitz's liberation brings to the front painful reminders of the atrocities that were committed in the name of a 'pure' Germany.

Kept alive by the very real reminders of what occurred in Auschwitz, the younger generation is also made aware of what happened, with Okehampton College being no different in their aim to educate their students.

Annually, the Holocaust Educational Trust, which is subsidised by the Government, hosts a trip for two carefully chosen pupils to the camp, where the ghost of the horrors committed still lingers as a reminder to the world.

This year promises to be an especially poignant one, with the 70th anniversary being a chilly reminder that this was not simply an injustice from the distant past, but is actually relatively modern.

The trip will see the students attend a seminar with a holocaust survivor to hear what life was like in the camps and then they will fly from Exeter airport to Poland. While in Poland, they will visit two of the camps.

Caleb Stevens, one of the students who will be taking the trip to Auschwitz this year, comments on what he feels he will gain from the event: 'I personally feel that this experience will give me a wider knowledge of a major historical event and allow me to understand differences in people and how they can affect others.'

Caleb will also then deliver his experiences to Key Stage 3 and 4, by giving assemblies and raising issues on prejudice and racism.

The co-ordinator of the trip, Mr Gurney, expects the students to gain recognition of the terrible event, as well as learn the importance of keeping the memory of the injustices alive.

The important lesson about what prejudice and hatred can lead to is expected to hit home hard.