Blog 12, Ms Richards, 15 Feb 2017

February is LGBT History Month. Each year I do the research and prepare to deliver a week of assemblies to encourage our students to think about different aspect of LGBT. In 2013 we looked at the word ‘GAY’ and how we often use it inappropriately; 2014 we looked at Closets and what we had hiding in them; 2015 was all about the experience of being Gay in a straight world. In 2016 we spoke about religion, beliefs and philosophy and 2017 the theme was all about law and citizenship. 

But 2017 will be a year that I will never forget because not only did we look at the theme law and citizenship in the assemblies, we decided as a school to do something very different. We held our first ‘Take PRIDE in Yourself: Celebrating Diversity’ event. Oh and what an event it was! 

We had representative from LGBT Sheffield, LGBT University of Sheffield, South Yorkshire Police, Fruitbowl, SayIT, Sheena Amos and St Marks Church. We also had some of the members from ‘Out ALOUD’ choir singing. From the school community we had a cake stall, a stall selling wrist bands, lanyards and rainbow shoe laces and there was a stall about genderbreads and even a LGBT candy crush style game.

The hall was alive with people, with citizens, with individuals from different cultures, different beliefs, different backgrounds and different sexualities. Everyone supporting, everyone learning, everyone having a good time. Today, 9th February 2017, will be a day I will never forget. I am a citizenship, I have rights, I have my beliefs, my culture, my background and my sexuality and I should not be afraid to show:

‘I am what I am and what I am needs no excuses’.

I really hope that High Storrs School will continue to make a difference in people’s lives and I hope that people will be as proud of this school as I am today. Thank you to everyone who took part.