Teenagers from schools in Oxfordshire are among 200 students preparing to visit Auschwitz — the infamous concentration camp in Poland.

The Holocaust Educational Trust, which is funded by the Government, is flying pupils from schools across the South East to Krakow Airport on March 19.

The schools include Our Lady’s Abingdon, Kingham Hill School in Chipping Norton, School of St Helen & St Katherine in Abingdon, Sibford School in Banbury, Banbury School, Didcot Girls School, St Birinus School in Didcot and Bicester Community College.

In Oxford, St Gregory the Great, Cheney School, Matthew Arnold School and Cherwell School are signed up.

Two pupils from Cheney School who joined a similar trip in November last year said the experience had left an indelible mark.

Ellie Doyle, 17, from East Oxford, said: “I am really glad I went — it was an incredible experience, very educational.

“I was very lucky to be able to go. I didn’t take the trip for granted.”

Friend Peter Dewhurst, 16, from New Hinksey, added: “It was quite numbing. I found it very difficult.

“You can’t take it all in on the day. It was exhausting, emotionally and physically.”

David Gimson, head of history at Cheney, said: “There’s no substitute for visiting historically important sites yourself.

“The trips enable our students to build on what they have learnt and think about the wider lessons.”

Cheney A-level students Essie Roland, 16, from East Oxford, and Callum Gordon, 18, from Headington, are joining the next trip.

Miss Roland said: “I’m quite excited. I think it’s something you have got to do.”

Mr Gordon added: “I’m looking forward to putting my learning in context.”

More than 5,000 students and teachers have visited Auschwitz in the 10 years since the foundation of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz Project.

The four-part project involves hearing the story of a survivor of the Holocaust, visiting Auschwitz, attending a follow-up seminar to discuss the trip and producing a piece of work, whether it be an essay, leading an assembly or taking part in an anti-racism conference.

Laura Ellman, spokesman for the trust, said: “The visits leave an unforgettable emotional and educational mark on participants.

“The project aims to increase knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust based on the premise that ‘hearing is not like seeing’ and to signal what can happen if prejudice and racism become acceptable.

“For the final stage of the course, participants design and carry out follow-up work focusing on the contemporary lessons of the Holocaust in their schools and local communities.”

tshepherd@oxfordmail.co.uk