On Friday, Ms Lewis and four Sixth Form students (Marta, Zainab, Kit and Jo) led a whole-school assembly to celebrate Black British History. We decided to focus on the Mangrove Nine Notting Hill protest and subsequent trial which took place in 1970. The trial led to the first judicial acknowledgement of racism within the Metropolitan Police and marked a turning point in British race relations. We would highly recommend watching Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen’s Small Axe film ‘Mangrove’ to learn more about the history of British race relations.

This week, there will be many events to mark Black (British) History Month: on Monday the Art Department has organised a lunch-time workshop about contemporary Black British artists (open to all pupils); on Wednesday lunch-time, the Literary Society will explore the writing of Stuart Hall’s Familiar Stranger (open to 6th Form only); and on Thursday after school, there will be a specialist dance workshop to learn about Black British dance and culture (open to Year 7 – 10 pupils – first come, first served). Ms. Lawrence’s library display showcases a range of excellent Black British writers for your daughters to read. Please also check out this month’s Stretch & Challenge newsletter for more recommendations.