19 April 2007
The Community Security Trust (CST) of the British Jewish community has issued a statement refuting alleged plans by education authorities to stop Holocaust education in the country. American Jewish groups had accused the UK of rescinding on educating students about the Shoah, something which has been categorically denied by the British government.
The CST statement said: "The reality is that teaching the Holocaust became part of the National Curriculum for History in 1991. It is a mandatory subject for all students in England and Wales in Year 9 ... The majority of high school students will also visit the national Holocaust Museum at the Imperial War Museum in London, the privately funded Beth Shalom Holocaust Center in Newark or the Holocaust exhibition at the Jewish Museum in London. Additionally, the government sponsors two school students from every high school a year to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau through the Holocaust Educational Trust Lessons from Auschwitz programme." The statement adds: "Teacher training ensures that hundreds of newly qualified teachers are provided with skills and materials to ensure effective education for their students."
A government-commissioned report on the matter can be consulted on the following website:
http://www.haevents.org.uk/PastEvents/Others/Teach%20report.pdf
