In the final week of this half term, we celebrated our annual Culture Week in school. Students in all year groups enjoyed assemblies which had been prepared by students and featured traditional music and dancing from Ireland and the Philippines along with presentations from students about their favourite aspects of the unique cultures of DR Congo, Iran, Zimbabwe, Japan, Poland and Ghana. Students then led prayers in their own languages, with different countries represented across the week. It was fantastic to see students sharing their individuality with our school community. The assembly ended with a powerful message from Pope Francis that, “the diversity of our cultural and religious identity is a gift from God” and students were invited to celebrate this diversity by getting involved in events throughout the week.
All week, students have engaged in celebrations of the diversity in our school community through lessons, activities in tutor time and extra-curricular activities. In PE lessons, students had the opportunity to learn different sports from around the world, while all students took part in quizzes during tutor time, as well as creating posters celebrating the unique combination of cultural identities in their form groups. Each lunchtime, the prefect team hosted a variety of events ranging from ‘Mapping Our Culture’ with students plotting the regions where their families live or were born on a world map displayed in the foyer. Today, students enjoyed an Afrobeats performance in the hall with students performing traditional music and dance from different countries including Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ghana, DR Congo, Uganda, Eritrea and South Africa.
The week culminated in a non-uniform day, when students were encouraged to wear traditional dress or clothes/colours representing one or more aspects of their own unique heritage.
Thank you to all students and staff involved with organising this special event in our school calendar. This was an excellent way to “build on the best traditions we have inherited” by developing an event pioneered by our head students and prefects of the Class of 2024 which has continued to grow over the past 3 years.
