Nottingham High School celebrated Black History Month this October with a variety of memorable events and activities across all three schools.
Miss Bailey said; ‘In EYFS we read ‘Coming to England’ by Floella Benjamin. The story is of Floella Benjamin who, along with her older sister and two younger brothers, set sail from Trinidad to London to be reunited with the rest of their family. Alone on a huge ship for two weeks, then tumbled into a cold and unfriendly London, coming to England wasn’t at all what Floella had expected. This was during the Windrush generation.’
Mrs Williams led an assembly with the Infant school based upon the Windrush generation. The pupils also looked at the countries people travelled from and celebrated the achievements and contributions they made and still do make to our country.
All the pupils in the Infant School watched a fantastic CBeebies programme; ‘Jo Jo and Gran Gran, It’s time to go on a Voyage, which introduced the children to celebrating Black History Month through a special collection being set up of artefacts from their journeys. The pupils saw how JoJo and Gran Gran visit an exhibition to learn about the time Gran Gran moved from Saint Lucia to England when she was a little girl. Lots of people have donated special objects and photos for the exhibition, including Gran Gran who donates her precious little duffle coat, her only memento from that time. In live segments interwoven into the episode, one young girl experiences some real artefacts of the time alongside Dr Ayshah Johnston, Learning and Engagement Manager at Black Cultural Archives, who is also an Episode Consultant for the show; and children talk about their own precious things and why they are special to them. They celebrated the courageous journeys that both of these women would have gone on. Both true stories with a powerful message: that courage and determination can always overcome adversity.
Mrs Claire Daly, Head of History, said:
“Year 7 students at Nottingham High School participated in a bespoke programme of events to celebrate Black History Month as part of a Black History, Arts and Culture Day. Year 7 students participated in a range of activities, designed to celebrate not only black British History, but also Art, Food, Music and Culture of black origin. One of the students’ favourite part of the day was a music workshop with MC Zani and the Beatbox Collective, where students were able to develop their understanding of music and learn how to Beatbox.”
“Alongside this they had workshops with the Food Department, where Preeti Mills showed students how to make chapattis and other traditional cuisines. In Art, students learnt about the work of Madrid-based Brazilian photographer Angelica Dass, who believes the spectrum of human skin tone is infinite. Students produced their own images and the Art Department are now working on the development of our own ‘Pantone Shades in Humanae’ display. In History, students learned about Edo culture and debates over the British Museum’s ‘ownership’ of the Benin Bronzes. The work done in these sessions was followed up by letters written by our Year 7 students to the British Museum to ask that this artwork of significant historical, religious and cultural value to the people of Nigeria be returned. In addition to these sessions, students also had sessions with the English Department to explore black British authors, sessions with the Biology Department to explore the migration of the first humans out of Africa and in RS students learned about why the exploration and celebration of black History is a moral duty for us all.”
