RECLAIMING NARRATIVES
In our whole School assembly pupils Teni, Aldwyn, Zakaria, Peter, Toluwanimi and Toju spoke to pupils and staff about Black History Month.
Teni spoke about the importance of listening to different communities, and the opportunity that Black History Month offers to focus on the impact of people of Afro-Caribbean descent across the world.
Every month should be a month where the diversity of our world is accurately represented.
Aldwyn discussed how his Nigerian family has shaped his values and culture, including a respect for elders and education.
Growing up with a heritage that values education and hard work heavily, I have always strived to live up to these values and let them guide me through life.
Zakaria explored how his name reveals his roots to Sub-Saharan Morocco and the stories of his ancestors. He considered how Black History Month, for him, is not just about looking back, but also about honouring stories of the past and using them to shape our future.
Black History Month […] is about honouring those stories and using them to shape our future.
Sixth Formers Peter and Toluwanimi highlighted the diversity of Africa, from its landscapes to its peoples, music, customs and the over 2,000 languages spoken on the continent, from Yoruba to Afrikaans.
Please click here to read our pupil speeches in full.
It was a pleasure to welcome Kayode Bola (OA 2016) to speak to our pupils about the importance of learning Black history, reclaiming narratives and the need for representation.His talk opened up discussions about his own experience at the School, addressing stereotypes, and how to handle racism.
It was great to invite Zachariah Singh to run an after-school workshop on basic tabla drumming, a style of percussion most popular in the Middle East and North Africa. Pupils imitated rhythms, and also created their own!
