News Stories

President Kennedy staff and students were privileged to welcome Holocaust Survivor Peter Lantos (83) to school to officially open the Echo Eternal Curriculum Garden.  

Since 2019 the school has participated in the national Echo Eternal Project, a commemorative arts, media and civic engagement project, led by CORE Education Trust and delivered in schools for children of all ages, inspired by the testimony of British survivors of the Holocaust and survivors of 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. 

The project brings together diverse communities in a collaborative context, using a common focus of Holocaust memorial and genocide awareness. As part of the project, the school was gifted the testimony of Peter Lantos.  By the age of 30, Peter Lantos had survived Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, was beaten by the Communist police in Hungary, qualified in medicine, defected to England, sentenced to imprisonment for this “crime” in his absence and had established a career in academic medicine in London. Peter arrived in London with a small suitcase and a few pounds in October 1968 and then embarked on a career in Medical Sciences which spanned some 34 years, during which he contributed to the understanding of diseases of the nervous system. He has become internationally known and was elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences.
As part of the project, students were supported by colleagues from Birmingham Royal Conservatoire to create an artistic multi-media response to Peter's testimony and to share his story with as wide an audience as possible.  

In 2020, the students created a video entitled 'Make the best out of the worst', which can be viewed on YouTube by following the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HoD6yHNhA4 

As a pledge to Echo Eternal and to create a lasting 'echo' to dynamically commemorate Peter's gifted testimony, President Kennedy School, with the support of school gardener Rob Bromfield, have created an Echo Eternal garden that features key elements of Peter's amazing story of survival at Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, such as cherry and apple trees.

Peter was invited to the school on Monday and met with colleagues and students from President Kennedy and Parkgate schools, the Futures Trust and invited guests from Hays Education and CORE Education Trust, including CORE CEO Adrian Packer CBE.  Students from years 6-13 presented poems and experiences of engaging with Peter's testimony within the school curriculum and Peter shared memories of his childhood and the Holocaust in a truly evocative and inspiring day.  Peter was then invited to plant a cherry tree in the Echo Eternal Curriculum Garden.

We would like to thank all of the students for their participation in the project and their involvement in the day and thank Peter for his visit to the school.  We would also like to thank Rob Bromfield for his fantastic work and commitment to planning and creating the garden, a lasting legacy to Peter's gifted testimony.  Peter will hopefully return in the Summer to see the garden in full bloom and enjoy and engage in its further development.  

Peter, upon his return, wrote to the school and said;

'First of all I should thank Rob, the staff and students for all you have done: for the garden which has so many details related to my book Parallel Lines or our exchange of emails; the onions, the Cox apple tree and the cherry tree. Thank you for the beautiful parting presents which, with other mementoes, will remind me of my unforgettable day in Coventry'. 

President Kennedy School thank Peter for the gift of his testimony and promise that it will act as a 'light in the darkness' to guide the school and its community, now and in the future, to continue to stand up to and act against hate, intolerance and injustice wherever it may exist.                 

                                                                                                               
Mr Mort, Director Futures Teaching Alliance

On 17th March 2022 Houlton School, a brand-new free school in Rugby, hosted the World Class Schools Quality Mark (WCSQM) Assessment Centre, welcoming 175 students from 30 primary and secondary schools applying for WCSQM re-accreditation. With President Kennedy re-accrediting to retain World Class School status this year, six of our students headed to Houlton school with a view to proving that they are #WorldClass. This opportunity allowed these students – Gracie Rolinson, Arya Bassi, Abshara Piratheeban, Finlay Lomas, Ethan Moongo and Cyrus Mathur – to showcase the skills and competencies that young people need to thrive in an ever-changing global economy.

This year’s assessment centre project that students were given two weeks to prepare for, and a day to complete, was to create innovative, attractive, and environmentally friendly outdoor and indoor spaces, incorporating the Houlton values. As part of Team 8, President Kennedy was tasked with creating a sign that represented the ethos and values of Dorsey college – one of the six inaugural Year 7 colleges at Houlton School.

This challenging real-life project gave students a unique opportunity to not only develop and demonstrate their World Class characteristics, but to enjoy a much-needed return to the social development, work experience and collaboration opportunities students have missed out on over the past two years.

“It’s so exciting for us to be able to bring students back together, to see them actively collaborating and forging a team bond across schools and year groups.” 
Miranda Perry, WCSQM Director

With an immense amount of planning in the two weeks prior to the assessment day, along with an incredible amount of resilience on the day, we are pleased to announce that our students passed the Assessment Centre with flying colours. A huge well done to the students involved who, throughout the day, showed fantastic drive, pride and determination. Our WCS assessor was impressed with the meticulous planning skills that President Kennedy School had shown prior to the day, along with our ability to collaborate with our team and the other teams taking part in other projects. 
 

Below are some of the comments that our WCS assessor made about our students work on the day:
“Gracie sent all of the necessary emails to convey messages to the whole group which enabled the team to get things done in an efficient and timely manner.”

“Arya formed a positive relationship with other research analysts before the meeting and was thoughtful of other students’ questions towards the group of student advisors.”

“Abshara explained how the tweets incorporated on the sign were diverse. They explained how this was important to the design as it ensured the sign catered for the diverse range of pupils who attend the school. This demonstrates a great understanding of the importance of valuing different people’s beliefs, values, attitudes and customs.”

“Finlay, who was the Presentation Coordinator, was agile in response to the changing needs of different members of the team. For example, towards the end of the project they helped the team complete the sign. Without this action, the sign may not have been complete for the deadline.”
“Ethan took on the role of adding the names of the inaugural students’ names to the sign as he had the most suitable skill set for this task. This enabled the project to be completed efficiently.”

“I was impressed by Cyrus who took it upon himself to communicate between team members when in different locations to ensure students knew what was happening in both the base room and the STEM room.”

As the assessment centre is one of a two-part re-accreditation process, the second part involves students using the WCSQM online app to demonstrate their World Class characteristics across a number of areas including learning, leadership, the workplace and community. 

Keep posted for the outcome of the final stage of our 
re-accreditation, which will be announced and formally awarded at the WCS annual Symposium on the 6th of July at Marylebone School! 

It is our students at President Kennedy that make our school #WorldClass.                                                     

Miss Tovey, Teacher of English