VIEWS & OPINION What we can learn from


Anne Frank Comment by GILLIAN WALNES PERRY MBE, Co-founder and Hon Vice President of the Anne Frank Trust UK


In July 1944, after two years in claustrophobic hiding from her Nazi persecutors, the 15-year-old Anne Frank wrote: ‘When I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better… In the meantime, I must hold on to my ideals. Perhaps the day will come when I’ll be able to realize them!’ Following the D-Day landings the previous month, her hopes were soaring that the Netherlands would soon be liberated. Anne was already planning her life beyond the hiding place, when she would


‘go out into the world and make a difference’. Anne had received her beloved diary for her 13th birthday on 12


June 1942. Three weeks later, she and her family were forced to abandon their comfortable apartment and flee to a set of cramped rooms above Mr Frank’s office. This happened suddenly as the previous day, the family had received a notice for Anne’s older sister Margot to report for a ‘work camp’, and they were hearing reports that very few who obeyed these instructions would return alive. Over the next two years of furtive hiding in what later became known the world over as the Anne Frank House, Anne wrote diligently in her red checked diary, chronicling the tedious everyday existence of their lives, describing her great fear of being captured, which would result in almost certain death. Anne Frank had been a highly sociable girl in the outside world,


with many friends and boyfriends, of whom she wrote ’They can’t keep their eyes off me’. Once in hiding there was no way of communicating with her much loved friends (many of whom had already been deported to concentration camps), Anne’s diary entry on 6th June 1944 describes the Allied invasion and the excitement of knowing liberation could be soon at hand. The girl who was often in trouble at school for chattering and disrupting the class had realised after her long confinement the opportunities afforded by education. She recorded how much she looked forward to going back to school. Trapped indoors with windows blacked out for safety, Anne


discovered an appreciation of nature which she admits she had previously taken for granted. She writes, ‘The best remedy for those who are frightened, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere they can be alone, alone with the sky, nature and God.' Anne also realised that writing was a great source of comfort, and it became her ambition to have her work read by others. On 5 April 1944, she wrote: ‘When I write I can shake off all my cares. My sorrow disappears, my spirits are revived! … Will I ever be able to write something great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer? … So onwards and upwards, with renewed spirits. It’ll all work out, because I’m determined to write!’ Tragically, for Anne it didn’t all work out. She died age 15 in


Bergen-Belsen concentration camp without ever knowing the impact of her writing, admired by world leaders and teenagers alike. Even though we are now currently trapped indoors, the day will soon come when we are able to return to the outside world without fear of arrest, deportation and extermination. Reading the words of Anne Frank in these days of self-isolating can surely give us a sense of proportion in these challenging times, which we know will soon come to an end.


Our first ten years is only the beginning


Comment by JUSTIN SMITH, Future First Chief Executive Officer


A world where a young person’s start in life does not limit their future. It’s a simple aspiration but one in


which Britain continues to fall short. Today, it is still the case that young people from lower socio economic backgrounds are more likely to think they will be unsuccessful in life. That they are doomed to underachievement simply because of the circumstances of their birth. It must not be like that.


For too many state students, their choice of job is limited to what drama they’ve watched on TV or what their family do for a living. Showing them the amazing array of careers to choose from is a challenge for all of us, not just the education system, government and business. Every one of us has a role to play in improving students’


motivation, confidence and life chances. We all have skills and talents to offer, from the recent school leaver now in higher education to the experienced professional. As Future First marks its 10th birthday, we celebrate a nationwide


army of 260,000 volunteer alumni marching back to their old schools supporting teachers with careers advice and transforming the life chances of current students. We are on the way to creating a culture of thriving, engaged


alumni networks in every UK state school or college and have worked in more than a thousand over the last decade. But it’s not enough to just show students those careers exist.


Young people have to develop the confidence to aspire to attain them. Our schools tell us that hearing from alumni who have gone on to


achieve fulfilling careers is transformational for students. If someone who has sat at the same school desk, kicked a ball in the same park has gone on to achieve a successful career, why shouldn’t they? ‘You just have to believe in yourself,’ ‘I can achieve more than I know,’ Time and again when I visit schools, I hear these messages from students who are suddenly more engaged and motivated after hearing from relatable, inspirational alumni. Teachers welcome the wider value of alumni too in instilling


resilience and tackling adversity. Because life is not linear, there will be challenges, as we see during the current pandemic which has caused such turmoil for students. ‘The fact that our students can see someone overcoming a barrier that they might be experiencing and that they have gone on to achieve success is great, said one teacher. For many returning alumni, it may be the first time they have walked through the school gates since they picked up their exam results. Yet they enjoy the rewards of meeting current students. ‘It’s great to give something back because there wasn’t anything like this when I was at school,’ said one. Over the last decade, Future First has shown that alumni


engagement in the state sector is bringing sustainable, lasting change. But we need to accelerate that development. Our plans include mentoring programmes between alumni and students, linking with employer partners in sectors such as international trade, tailoring programmes to key transitions like secondary school transfers and working with special schools. But we need former students to support us, so if you can help us prove to today’s young people that the future is there and it is bright, sign up on www.futurefirst.org.uk


May 2020


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