ONE of history’s darkest chapters is the subject of an exhibition at a Bradford school this week.

Students at Grange Technology College are learning valuable lessons about the life of Anne Frank, as The Anne Frank Trust brought it’s mobile exhibition to the school.

The exhibition is student led, and will see chosen students develop their understanding of the important historical figure whilst improving their ability to work in teams, as well as developing their debating, critical thinking, communication and presentation skills.

The German-born Jewish teenager has become arguably the most recognisable figure from the dark history of the Holocaust. He diary, written while she was hiding from the Nazis with her family in Amsterdam, has become a worldwide phenomenon, and is studied in schools.

The exhibition keeps her story alive by inviting schools to visit and learn more about her life and death, as well as wider issues of discrimination and other genocides.

On their first day back after the Christmas break, a team of twenty year 8, 9 and 10 student ambassadors from Grange attended a workshop where they were trained to guide their peers around the exhibition.

Starting yesterday all of Grange’s Year 7 and 8 students are being given given tours through the exhibition, led by teams of ambassadors during their Religious Studies lessons.

Each student received a booklet to complete during the tour, which will be followed up in a history lesson later in the week.

The event is part of the wider Stand Up, Speak Out, Make a Difference (SUSOMAD) programme, which is run by Cohesion Bradford, part of Bradford Council responsible for promoting equality, diversity and community cohesion in schools and local communities.

The group also runs Remembering Srebrenica, a project looking at the Srebrenica Genocide.

The Anne Frank programme will visit schools around the district and incorporate aspects of citizenship, history and English as well as addressing issues relating to British values.

Shazia Khan, Lead teacher for the project, said: “The student ambassadors have been amazing throughout this programme. They had to take in, learn and communicate a lot of information, some of which was new.

“They showed so much passion, did some great analysis and there was a lot of discussion, all of which was respectful, inspirational and full of eagerness to learn more.”

Year 8 student ambassador Mevish Abbas said: “I’m glad I have been chosen to represent my school and my year group in the Anne Frank exhibition. This has been a learning opportunity for me and my confidence has grown considerably.”

Year 8 student and Ambassador Zaid Patel said: “I’ve enjoyed taking a deeper look into the history of Ann Frank. I particularly love the mysteries of her story.”

Geraldine Cooper, Interim Head of Diversity and Cohesion at Bradford Council, who trained the ambassadors said: “The ambassadors from Grange have been amazing.

“I relayed an enormous amount information and their deep questioning and comments proved the value of these exhibitions in challenging controversy in schools.”