Pupils from schools in Bushey will join dignitaries and religious leaders to mark Holocaust Memorial Day later this month.

A special service including a two-minute silence, readings and a short film is due to take place at Hertsmere Council’s civic offices in Borehamwood on January 27.

Bushey Meads, Purcell and St Margaret’s schools have said they will be sending pupils to mark the occasion and more are expected to confirm their attendance in the coming days.

Hertsmere Mayor Peter Knell said: “It is an important part of the council’s annual calendar. This year’s theme encourages us to speak up and speak out against injustice and hatred so we can help create a safer, better future.”

Holocaust Memorial Day is commemorated internationally on the anniversary of the day in 1945 on which the Soviet Army liberated the largest Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Last year, pupils from Bushey Meads School, Immanuel College and Purcell School attended the ceremony.

The aim of HMD is to remember the millions who were murdered in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur in order to challenge hatred and persecution in the UK today.

Anyone is welcome to attend the service on Friday, January 27, at 10.40am, in the council’s chamber at its civic offices in Elstree Way.