Upminster pupils have taken part in workshops about Anne Frank to challenge modern-day prejudices.

Anne Frank was a Jewish teenager who famously wrote a diary documenting her life hiding from the Nazis in an attic during World War Two.

Last month, around 30 Year 9 pupils at The Coopers' Company & Coborn School took part in a two-day workshop.

The My Story programme, led by The Anne Frank Trust UK, aims to empower young people to challenge prejudice by using their own personal experiences.

%image(15315947, type="article-full", alt="Upminster pupils learnt about prejudices people face")

The trust describes the programme as "especially suited to disadvantaged students" or those with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, as it "enables them to learn from and express their own identities and stories".

"It turns disadvantage into cultural and social capital," according to the charity.

Workshop participant Tracy Tran called the experience "amazing and inspiring in many different ways".

She said: "What I really enjoyed about the Anne Frank workshop is the story behind it and how there were many other things that linked to Anne's story, not only about her hiding.

"We learnt about the problems people face either because of their beliefs or who they are.

%image(15315949, type="article-full", alt="Tracy Tran learnt about antisemitism during a two-day workshop")

"We thoroughly went through the meaning of antisemitism and all the challenges the Jews had to face and still face even today.

"We also learnt about prejudice and discrimination which I think is really important to cover because lots of people face these problems every day.

"Anne's story even helped me to write my own story about myself and to know that it is okay to be me no matter what society I am from."

The school also hosted an interactive webinar for the whole year group, also run by the trust, focusing on the topic of Islamophobia.

Pupil Micah Rattray said: "I found the Islamophobia workshop really informative as it showed us how negative deceptions of Islam can influence others to adopt Islamophobic tendencies and sometimes even project this phobia on Muslims, both verbally and physically."

%image(15315951, type="article-full", alt="Micah Rattray found the workshop about Islamophobia "informative"")

Headteacher Sue Hay explained the goal was to change the language students use.

She said: "It's about educating our students, proactively teaching them about the right way of talking.

"It's important that they understand the positive and negative impact of words."