Schools on the Move: Bunce Court, Gordonstoun and Camphill

As a result of exile from their homelands, Jewish refugee educators founded many schools in the UK. The schools were mostly boarding schools based on the principle of ‘Landerziehungsheime’ – ‘countryside educational homes’. The primary aim of all these schools in their early days was to support young Jewish refugees as they faced the challenge of establishing a new identity as they came to terms with an unfamiliar and alien environment. This talk by Marjorie Downward will outline briefly the outstanding educational work of Anna Essinger, founder of Bunce Court School in Kent, Kurt Hahn and Karl Koenig, founders of Gordonstoun and Camphill respectively, both of them in Scotland.

A retired but still active musician, Marjorie Downward has for some years taken a keen interest in 19th, 20th and 21st century social history, conducting independent research on a wide range of topics, including the lead-up to war and the after-effects of war on society as a whole. She has been involved in editing stories of WW2 Refugees, European Voluntary Workers and POWs who came to England and stayed, resulting in a publication ‘When Europe Came to Shropshire’ by P. Fairclough; and has researched and helped with two publications about the pioneers and WW2 years of Gordonstoun School plus The Jewish X Troop.

To book, click here.