Plan your secondary school visit
Plan your secondary school visit to the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum
Secondary Workshops
To find out more about a school experience at SOFO download our 'Teacher's Planning Pack'(PDF).
Why not come along to the Museum for a hands on workshop? Secondary students at SOFO get to learn through action. They have opportunities to handle and learn from our extensive handling collection; try an make-and so activity; or try out our life-size experiences (we have a walk-in WWI trench, a life-size Anderson Shelter and a section of a Horsa glider). All our workshops take a cross-curricular approach, working not only with the National Curriculum’s history outcomes but in some instances with STEM, careers and Artsmark outcomes.
You don't have to book a workshop to benefit from the learning opportunities at SOFO: there are plenty of options for schools who wish to attend using only self-guided activities, with stamp passports, lifesize exhibits and more. Please ensure you book self-guided visits prior to arriving, by contacting Museum Programme Officer Anita Joice at anita.joice@sofo.org.uk, tel: 01993 810214.
The following workshops are available:
Churchill, Champion of Technology
Secondary workshop with a focus on STEM subjects in relation to the museum's Churchill and Second World War collections and exhibitions.
Saving Cells, Saving Lives
Secondary workshop with a focus on STEM subjects and careers in relation to the museum's exhibitions and collections related to wartime medical care and medicine.
An Introduction to Ejector Seats - For young people with additional needs (SEND)
A STEM workshop for young people with special educational needs, with a focus on the science behind our Martin-Baker ejector seat on display at the museum.
After Anne: Exploring the Holocaust
This learning session focuses on the life of Anne Frank and the events immediately following her death. By tracing the story of her life, we look at the events in her country and those surrounding it, which led to her family’s decision to go into hiding; their discovery, transport to a concentration camp, and death in Bergen-Belsen in February 1945. Members of the 63rd Anti-Tank Regiment (Oxfordshire Yeomanry), were the first to liberate the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp around two months later: and we hear eyewitness accounts of members of the regiment. We’ll hear other perspectives too: from politicians, but also artists who chronicled the unimaginable.
We finish by looking at one piece of art in particular. The Human Laundry, by Doris Clare, and reflecting on it before producing an artistic response to the things we have learned. The buildings of Bergen-Belsen were burnt, and the nearby displaced persons camp closed, in the Summer of 1950. Students are invited to respond in monochrome with group responses ( 1 A1 sheet per small group) – charcoal on white or chalk on black.
Discovering Stories of Liberation
This learning session offers students a meaningful exploration of the Holocaust through personal narratives and historical sources, focusing on the story of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen. Through the investigation of oral histories, diary entries, and artefacts, students will uncover individual experiences, such as those of Naomi Kaplan, a Bergen-Belsen survivor, and Arthur Tyler, a soldier from the Oxfordshire Yeomanry who took part in the camp’s liberation. By examining the diverse experiences of both survivors and liberators, students will gain a deeper understanding of the personal impact of the Holocaust. The session concludes with a reflective discussion on the historical significance of the Holocaust and considerations why remembrance remains critically important today.
About our Holocaust learning programme:
The Holocaust learning programme at the SOFO museum is incredibly engaging. The exhibition itself is outstanding and the related learning programme, rooted in the county's own military history, brings home profound links to the local context. This makes the history real for visitors and students and helps them see the local region in a new light. Opportunities for critical thinking and reflection run throughout, weaving through the presentation of exhibits and the stories of individuals. Teachers and their students leave both inspired and deeply moved. Congratulations Ursula Corcoran (Museum Director), trustees and staff on what you have achieved. The Museum is an Oxfordshire treasure, and I would highly recommend a visit.
Ruth-Anne Lenga Associate Professor (Teaching)
International Developments & Initiatives to Address Antisemitism
UCL Centre For Holocaust Education
Funded Travel Support
To mark the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Bergen-Belsen, the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum is offering up to £300 in coach travel support to help schools visit the museum to attend one of its Holocaust education workshops: ‘After Anne’ or ‘Discovering Stories of Liberation’. The museum is grateful for the support of the Warren family in being able to provide this support to schools, contuining the legacy of Holocaust survivor Naomi Warren, in educating young people about the Holocaust and the dangers of discrimination.
To register your interest in a funded Holocaust session, please fill in the form below and send it to our Museum Programme Officer, Anita Joice, anita.joice@sofo.org.uk. Funding is limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
After your visit, please pay your travel costs and then send us a copy of your paid invoice and school payment details. We will then refund the money to your school account. If you are visiting us on more than one day in a season you will be able to request the grant to help cover your costs for both days of travel.
