Abingdon News No.58

Tackling Inequality and encouraging Diversity The Equality Committee at Abingdon School is a student- led initiative working to raise awareness amongst pupils and staff of the issues surrounding equality and diversity. It looks to provide a platform to promote discussion, address prejudice and to allow minority voices to be heard. Equal rights for all The Committee is well aware of the relatively limited social diversity within the school community and of the School’s commitment to broaden access to an Abingdon education. They consider that this is all the more reason to work to raise awareness amongst the school community of the inequalities in our society. They argue that just because we may not see discrimination or inequality, it does exist within our community. It is the responsibility of our society to demand equal rights for all and it could be argued that because of the relatively homogeneous backgrounds of the student population, there is more work to be done at Abingdon and similar schools, than in some other educational settings. The Committee was set up in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. This, together with subsequent events including the sexual harassment cases highlighted by Everyone’s Invited, have further fuelled the desire to recognise and acknowledge the inequality and injustices in our society in order to begin to correct the imbalance. Student engagement The Committee, which has around 25 members who meet weekly, works alongside the Headmaster and staff who have embraced their ideas and activities. It has a multi-faceted approach to raising awareness. The Committee has presented whole school assemblies on International Women’s Day, George Floyd and systemic racism, and Pride and Allyship and provided resources for tutor group discussions to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month. It plans further assemblies and events and to promote student engagement through social media, a profile on the school website, plus joint initiatives with St Helen and St Katharine and other local schools. It is also reviewing the curriculum alongside staff with a view to adjusting the way subjects are taught, with the aim of making it more inclusive. Long term project The Committee is determined, as is the School, to raise awareness and promote discussion and positive action to combat inequality. The Committee recognises that this is a long term project and, having only been operational for two terms and within the constraints of the pandemic, their initiatives to date are relatively limited. However, it is a student body that is gaining momentum and it is an integral part of Abingdon School’s measures to promote a community that is open, listening, addressing inequality and encouraging diversity. 8 Septmber 2021 Members of the Equality Committee Abingdon News