Throughout October our staff and student have been celebrating Black History Month with a series of talks, concerts, events and initiatives under the theme of ‘Proud to Be’

Thank you to Tara Willie and Avril Munday, Midday Meals supervisors and Kitchen staff who have been providing a delicious Caribbean culinary dining experience in the canteen on Thursdays and to Ms Smith for her amazing world food display. We also congratulate Yasu in Year 10 for successfully launching the #girlswithgoals after school book club, supported by Ms Harrison.

One of our most popular events was ‘The Mathematics of Steel Drums (Pan Mathematics)’ organized by Mr King which took place on Tuesday 19 October. A fantastic Pan musician played the Steel drums across KS3/4 lunch in the playground while Mr King talked to the audience about the history and origins of the Pans as well as the mathematics behind the drums.

The month culminated in an after-school celebration just before half term on Thursday, 22nd October. The evening began with workshops for students to participate in and drop in to. Ms Andre and Ms Skinner ran an African art workshop, Ms Smith a Caribbean food demonstration, Ms Adjei a workshop on how to plait and twist natural hair, and a spoken word session was led by Year 13 student Andile. The next part of the evening in the Theatre featured poetry, dancing, spoken word and an incredible panel discussion featuring Ijoma Akinsanmi, Head of Culture and Operations at Manchester Utd and Commonwealth 100m champion Reuben Arthur, who had also been speaking to students in assemblies earlier in the week. The discussion, led by prefects Jeremy and Jodi, gave our guests a huge amount to reflect on and ensured everyone left the event full of inspiration. We would like to thank Ms Easmon-Johnson, Ms St ValleSmith and the entire team who organised such a wonderful event.

The term ended with a non-uniform day during which students were encouraged to wear heritage dress celebrating their cultures and the cultures they are connected to. The diversity of the outfits our students arrived in served as a happy reminder of the incredible diversity of our student body – one of our school’s greatest strengths. It was an excellent and fitting end to Black History Month.