This week was our school Diversity Week.
We worked in a small team with the aim of promoting inclusion in our school community and celebrating our diversity. This was met with a positive response, as staff and students alike participated in events ranging from a student-led culture and faith fair to a diversity quiz.
Societies from across our school contributed to Diversity Week, with the Feminist Society having a discussion on intersectionality, the Sign Language Society holding sign language taster sessions and Pride Society selling rainbow cakes, to raise money for the Albert Kennedy Trust.
Other charities supported throughout the week were Sevenoaks Welcomes Refugees and Amnesty International, through film nights and a Home Clothes Day. These are charities close to our community’s heart, and the money raised by these events allowed us to further the impact of our Diversity Week, into the wider world.
Additionally, several guest speakers visited Sevenoaks: David Swanston, who gave a talk on inclusive pedagogy and his students’ role in the development of the Sightbox project; Adam Mcevoy, who explored wheelchair football; and Yvonne Asamoning, who gave a talk on gender and development.
Conversations regarding inclusion were opened as a result of this week, allowing the school community to be strengthened, as well as making it abundantly clear that discrimination of any kind is not welcome, by giving staff and students alike glimpses into problems many groups represented within our community face. We hope this week has made a lasting impact on Sevenoaks School; enabling us to continue to work towards our aim of a community that is supportive and inclusive of all, regardless of sex, gender, faith, race, sexual orientation, or disability.
Aanya Sidhu (Year 11)
