We are delighted to announce that Hampton School has been successfully reaccredited with the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education Quality Mark, recognising its sustained excellence and continued innovation in Holocaust teaching and learning.

The reaccreditation follows a rigorous review process that highlighted Hampton’s deeply research‑informed curriculum, exceptional classroom practice, and the intellectual and ethical maturity shown by its students. Hampton first became a UCL Beacon School in 2015–16 and achieved its initial Quality Mark in 2022. This second award confirms the school’s position as a national leader in Holocaust education.

Research‑informed, conceptually rich curriculum

The review commended the school’s significant deepening of its Holocaust curriculum since 2022. Drawing extensively on UCL research into students’ misconceptions, the History department has redesigned its scheme of work to pre‑empt common misunderstandings and strengthen disciplinary thinking. Inspectors praised the curriculum’s conceptual spine – evidence, interpretation, continuity and change, similarity and difference – and its integration of cutting‑edge historiography, including the Holocaust in the East, gendered experiences, collaboration, and The Ravine.

The report noted that Hampton’s curriculum ‘acts as a bridge between emergent historical scholarship and classroom practice,’ enabling students to challenge assumptions, interrogate sources and develop nuanced understandings of responsibility, motivation and human behaviour.

Exceptional teaching and student engagement

The observed lesson was ‘exceptional in both planning and delivery,’ showcasing expert questioning, adaptive teaching, trauma‑aware practice and the Centre’s signature ‘slow reveal’ pedagogy. Students demonstrated sophisticated historical literacy, emotional intelligence and critical thinking, with reviewers noting their ability to analyse multilingual sources, challenge misconceptions and articulate complex ideas with precision.

Student voice was a particular strength. Hampton pupils were praised for their empathy, intellectual curiosity and civic awareness, with the review describing them as ‘living evidence of a curriculum that cultivates knowledge, criticality and ethical maturity.’

A whole‑school commitment

The reaccreditation also recognised the school’s strong leadership and collaborative culture. Lead Teacher Mr Andy Lawrence, SLT Lead Mr Mark Nicholson, and colleagues Mrs Holly Partridge and Mrs Sarah Willcox were commended for their expertise, humility and shared pedagogical vision. Holocaust education at Hampton is reinforced across RS, Geography, PSHE and enrichment, creating a coherent, layered learning experience.

Headmaster Mr Kevin Knibbs welcomed the reaccreditation, saying:

‘We are delighted to have retained this Quality Mark from the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education. Given contemporary UK and international challenges, it feels more relevant than ever to ensure that young people are well‑educated about the Holocaust and other genocides, so we are grateful to UCL for their ongoing guidance and support to us and other schools. It is very pleasing indeed that the exemplary work of our History department colleagues, and the remarkable young men in the School’s Genocide 80Twenty campaigning group, has been recognised via UCL’s reaccreditation process.’

Lead Teacher Mr Andy Lawrence MBE reflected on the process:

‘The Quality Mark reaccreditation process has been invaluable in helping us reflect critically on and strengthen our practice in teaching about the Holocaust in our School. The evidence‑based pedagogical principles that the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education stand for have guided us and, indeed, help to inform our wider curriculum planning. We are really fortunate to have a strong, skilled and committed History team, but the Quality Mark reminds us that this work is never finished – it is a foundation for continued development rather than an end point.’

A model of excellence

The Centre congratulates Hampton School on this well‑deserved reaccreditation. The school’s commitment to research‑informed practice, ethical responsibility and high‑quality teaching ensures that its students encounter the Holocaust with intellectual rigour, emotional sensitivity and a profound sense of human responsibility.

Hampton stands as a powerful example of what sustained, reflective and values‑driven Holocaust education can achieve. The Centre’s Dr Nic Wetherall MBE, who led the review, reflected:

‘Visiting Hampton again offered a powerful reminder that the true measure of Holocaust education lies not simply in what students know, but in who they become. The scholarship, care and integrity evident throughout the school have helped cultivate young people of empathy, discernment and moral seriousness, whose reflections speak eloquently to the transformative potential of this work – which is testimony to the quality of Holocaust teaching, learning, provision and practice.’

 

* *The full Hampton School 2026 report, featuring extensive details of their strengths and identification of suggested developmental action points, will be available soon.

The UCL Quality Mark scheme is a great way to celebrate and share best practice and is both developmental and forward looking. Read more about undertaking the Quality mark process or contact Nic Wetherall to discuss.