Our Whole School Assembly this morning was dedicated to celebrating Pride month. Pride is celebrated in the month of June, as that was the month when the Stonewall Riots took place.
The Stonewall Riots were important protests that took place in 1969 in the US, that changed gay rights for a lot of people in America and around the world. Pride is a celebration of people coming together in love and friendship, to show how far LGBTQ+ rights have come, and how in some places there's still work to be done.
Pride month is about acceptance, equality, celebrating the work of LGBTQ+ people, education in LGBTQ+ history and raising awareness of issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community. It also calls for people to remember how damaging homophobia was and still can be. Pride is all about being proud of who you are no matter who you love.
At Shiplake everyone has an equal place regardless of race, gender, sexuality, nationality and religious beliefs. It's a place where you can be yourself and we are proud of our diversity.
During assembly this morning we heard from two members of the Shiplake Diversity Committee about why celebrating Pride month is so important. The Pride flag is flying high above the Skipwith Tower and staff have been given special Pride pins to show to pupils that they are there to talk to about any issue that might be affecting them personally. Pride will also be celebrated in Chapel this week.
Ms Kate Magee said: "Mr Howe is always reminding you how much we have to celebrate at Shiplake and how much there is to be proud of. This is Pride Month, when the nation is encouraged to celebrate diversity. And Shiplake has gone all out to literally ‘fly the flag’ for Pride aloft Skipwith House.
"This flag, these badges, our Diversity Group and the fact that we are embracing Pride month with our online platform, represents Shiplake’s commitment to inclusivity.
"However, as a society the UK has some way to go in changing opinions and bringing progress about in terms of sexual identity, where it is still sadly lacking.
"Yesterday morning’s news brought the Pride story of Dame Kelly Holmes an award-winning Olympic Athlete and black woman who represented her country and has won two gold medals. Dame Kelly was also part of the armed forces and during her service could not come out as gay because it was illegal for gay, lesbian and bisexual people to serve in the British armed forces until 2016. That was a mere six years ago.
"Another news story was that FIFA were trying to block social media sites from posting homophobic abuse aimed at premier league players during the world cup. This is an ongoing issue in sports considered masculine and male dominated. This is where we at Shiplake can ‘be’ the difference.
"It is no longer acceptable to refer to people or situations as ‘gay’. It has to be erased from our language, just as racist and sexist slurs have been banished. Instead, the progressive, humane, approach is to defer judgement on issues of sexuality and instead see the person and allow them to be who they are.
"As a school we need to stand out on this issue, as we have on other issues, such as gender and racial equality. This is a time when we all need to show Pride in the diversity of our school and this is where we all have a part to play.
"If you want to be part of the conversation and get involved with the Diversity Group, please drop us an email at [email protected]."
Dr Liz Chare said: "To follow on from Ms Magee, just a few reflections from me. There were mixed emotions hearing about Dame Kelly Holmes, our amazing double Olympian, only feeling able to come out as gay after 34 years. Similarly, when Jack Daniels, the Liverpool Premier League footballer came out as gay a couple of weeks ago, it was with mixed emotions to be reminded that he is currently the only openly gay active professional footballer.
"Flying the Diversity flag for the first time at the top of Skipwith is a symbol of the strides we are making at Shiplake College to be a more inclusive environment. It is a symbol to show we support all members of our community to be themselves, however they may wish to identify themselves. Flying the diversity flag serves to remind us that racist, sexist, homophobic or any other thoughtless language will not be tolerated. Finally, it reminds us that staff here will support students, however they wish to define themselves and those staff that wear the diversity pin are particularly happy to talk to students about any related issues.
"This is a matter close to my own heart. When I saw the flag flying last week the first thing I did was to send a picture to Mr Andy Jones who I know would loved to have joined us this morning and who I know is with us in heart. It is wonderful that we are making great strides here at Shiplake."
Mr Howe closed the assembly by saying: "Whoever you are, whatever gender, sexual orientation, race, skin colour, ethnicity, religion, nationality - you are welcome at Shiplake. You an equal part of our community and that positive approach helps our education, helps our tolerance and it helps our functioning as a school community, and more than anything else, we are a community here at Shiplake College."
