This year’s Emanuel Pride Week started off with a splash of colour as pupils came into school in their own colourful clothes. In the lead up to Pride Week students of all ages submitted pieces of art inspired by the word ‘Diversity’ using any medium they wished. These were then displayed in an art exhibition on the Dacre balcony which has continued to be showcased, attracting many viewers. Tuesday lunchtime was dominated by the hugely successful Pride Gig in the Hampden Hall. This event saw soloists and bands perform songs by queer artists and songwriters to a large audience. The gig was wildly successful with many teachers and students performing. A photo booth was also set up as well as a stand selling Pride merchandise, such as shoelaces and pins. Following this, Wednesday saw a break-time rainbow cupcake sale and was followed by a serving of rainbow pasta at lunch!
All year groups throughout Pride Week participated in LGBTQ+ – focused life skills sessions. The sixth form received a very informative talk on many topics, such as ways to educate people on queer issues, the lack of inclusivity in spaces such as the men’s Premier league in comparison with the women’s football, the difficulties of growing up queer, the use of more gender neutral language and the specific issues faced by young trans people and how to support trans individuals. The sixth form also participated in some form Kahoots on queer trivia created by members of the Prism group.
Throughout the week the daily school bulletins have included plenty of recommendations of queer media to listen to, watch and read as well as action to take to support the LGBTQ+ community, such as signing petitions among other things. Many of these book recommendations were displayed in the library for all students to borrow and read.
Pride Week has been a wonderful experience with many informative, fun and interactive events for all. Thank you very much to Miss Holden and Miss Aitken-Burt for organising all these events and thank you to all those who have participated in events this week.
Please feel free to visit the LGBTQ+ Pride pages on Firefly which have a large selection of resources, documentaries and other media for all to view and interact with.
Sophia (Upper Sixth)