St Michael’s is a successful, well-ordered and caring mixed Catholic comprehensive College for students aged 11-18.They are very proud of their examination successes which are regularly above the local and national averages.

Several members of staff have undertaken CPD at the Centre for Holocaust Education, as well as Yad Vashem and HET. St Michael’s is leading Holocaust curriculum development across local schools in the Catholic Teaching Alliance and the Southwark School’s Learning Partnership.

St Michael’s Catholic College pursued securing Quality Mark accreditation in 2022. Achieving this award, at any time, is significant, to do so during the COVID-19 context, is outstanding. We offer the students, staff and wider St Michael’s Catholic College our warmest congratulations on successful accreditation as our 21st UCL Quality Mark Beacon School.

Our Quality Mark review process confirms St Michael’s Catholic College’s quality provision for and evolving specialism in Holocaust education. Holocaust teaching and learning is contributing to a curriculum that informs, engages, empowers, and inspires its learners, resulting in impressive outcomes. The quality of Holocaust teaching and learning, and the outcomes for students at St Michael’s, particularly within History, is excellent, and has benefitted from Beacon School status.

The intent and implementation of the History curriculum, and, increasingly, across a range of subject areas, bares the hallmarks of deep thinking, planning, innovation, and quality curriculum design. St Michael’s have a clearly developed rationale for their approach to Holocaust education that speaks to affective and cognitive outcomes for learners and is rooted in and complementary to their Salesian values of respect, understanding, affection and humour, which are lived in every aspect of college life.

• Considerable thought, planning and innovation has gone into a rich Holocaust curriculum offer within History – the related documents and resources, approach and overall rationale to talking and teaching about difficult, sensitive or complex and challenging histories, reveal a depth of thinking about history education and the utmost regard for the subject matter, its subjects and respect for students.
• St Michael’s ‘What was the Holocaust and what made it possible?’ History scheme of work/learning is informed by the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education pedagogy and educational principles: humanising the history, respect for victims, foregrounding testimony, no/limited use of atrocity images, challenges misconceptions using research (various UCL teacher/student studies) and introducing students to cutting edge academic scholarship. Personal stories are a strong feature of St Michael’s Holocaust scheme of work, and students found the story of Leon Greenman and family particularly compelling.
• Drawing upon local history connections and making the history relevant is a particularly strong and innovative feature of provision. Mentor Dr Arthur Chapman remarked ‘… how impressive and strikingly original…the approach that you have developed is – weaving local stories into the narrative of the Holocaust is a very powerful approach and it was really impressive to see the number of local stories you were able to identify, draw upon and weave into your scheme.’

Read the full report: St Michaels Catholic College QM

We are delighted to award St Michael’s Catholic College with the UCL Centre for Holocaust Education ‘Quality Mark’ and re-designate your Beacon School status for a further three years.  Your impressive provision for and quality teaching and learning about the Holocaust and your innovative and ambitious commitment to local history is remarkable.

We congratulate Mr Magnoff and Ms Corcoron, the staff, student and governing body for embracing this programme, giving it the status, time and support necessary to ensure such highly impressive outcomes. This report does not do your students’ justice – without exception, those observed classes, and student voice group, were remarkable – they were articulate, engaging, thoughtful and reflective. Without doubt incredible ambassadors for your school and the quality for provision and experience of Holocaust teaching and learning – it was a privilege to converse with them – they speak to the impact of the relationships, culture, and teaching at St Michael’s. They are each beacons the whole community can be proud of.

We value this opportunity to continue our partnership with such a true ‘Beacon’ and relish working with you as you aim to inform, inspire, and empower young people to safeguard the future through learning about the past. This is vital work and we will be keen to hear more of the action points, opportunities, and its impact over the next three years.’