Pupils praised for ‘haunting’ work on project (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Pupils praised for ‘haunting’ work on project

9:31pm Tuesday 3rd March 2009 in

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A full-scale replica of the bedroom where Anne Frank hid from the Nazis for two years is in Bradford as part of a haunting exhibition.

Called Anne Frank and You, it is linked to an education pack exploring human rights, created by Bradford schools, which is being used as a template by education authorities across the UK.

More than 50 children trained as ‘Anne Frank Ambassadors’ will guide school parties around the exhibition, launched last night at Cartwright Hall.

It has travelled around the world and has been translated into 40 languages, but this is the first time schoolchildren have been involved in such a way.

The centrepiece is a striking replica of Anne’s room in the secret annexe of her father’s business premises, where the Frank family and four other Jews hid from 1942-1944 before they were discovered by Nazis and sent to death camps.

Visitors are invited to record their thoughts on replica blank sheets from Anne’s diary and sign a copy of the Anne Frank Declaration, pledging to stand up to hatred and inequality.

The exhibition, running until March 26, has been developed by Education Bradford and the Anne Frank Trust UK.

It was launched with poetry, dance and drama by Bradford children and a performance by rapper Imran Hafeez to Not In My Name – Bradford Rap, the soundtrack to a film by schools accompanying the pack. A group of Bradford youngsters recently presented the pack to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.

Diane Hadwen, Education Bradford’s diversity and cohesion manager, said: “The Trust described their work as ‘groundbreaking’.

The pack has gone to schools across the district. Based on the theme Stand Up To Hatred, it links Anne’s diary to human rights issues, looking at race, democracy, rights and responsibilities.”

Lucy Glennon, of the Anne Frank Trust UK, who worked with the Bradford youngsters, said: “They’ve been an inspiration. Their work will be the envy of every education team across the country.”