Equality & Diversity

The tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and subsequent worldwide protests have led the school community to reflect on how we can help to tackle racial prejudice and promote diversity.

We are grateful to all our pupils, past and present, who are engaging in the conversation to help ensure South Hampstead is a place where mutual respect can flourish. Below, Mrs Bingham outlines the school’s plans to address the crucially important issue of inequality in the short and long term.

“The untimely and shocking death of George Floyd will, many of us hope, provide a catalyst for long-lasting change. This is, I hope, a seminal moment for race relations and I sincerely hope that out of the tragedy of his death will come a renewed longing for equality. All institutions need to think about how they put diversity at their heart of their strategic plans, and South Hampstead is no exception. South Hampstead remains proud of its inclusive ethos. But we can and must do more. Tackling racial prejudice is too important to be limited to a hashtag or a tweet. So what are we doing?

I spoke to all our pupils about these issues at yesterday’s morning assembly and some of our Lower Sixth students are keen to lead on this critically important issue. They will be supporting the Senior Leadership Team in reviewing our diversity policies and strategy. We are also inviting two South Hampstead alumnae, who sent me a letter on behalf of many others, to a discussion with the Senior Leadership Team and some of the representatives of our Head Girl Team. This will help us to take the important first steps in our response to recent events.

Our strategy needs to combine some immediate, shorter-term actions, as well as the development of longer-term plans. From now on, diversity will be a core part of the school’s strategic plan in an explicit manner. I have outlined some initial thoughts below; the key point is that we need to start by listening and asking questions.

• The first step for the school is to make sure we listen to members of our community about these issues. We need to listen to be able to reflect and make positive changes. I will be reaching out to some former pupils to understand their personal experience of South Hampstead and have encouraged current pupils to share their thoughts with me following my assembly. 
• Secondly, we are setting up a steering group comprising current staff, students and alumnae to help us address racial equality. We will also continue to review our curriculum in the widest possible sense. There are a number of ways we currently address racial prejudice on the curriculum and celebrate racial diversity.  

Currently, our History Department teaches colonialism and the slave trade to all students as part of its compulsory Year 9 curriculum. Lorraine Hansberry and Maya Angelou form part of our GCSE English Literature curriculum, a qualification taken by all students. Racial Prejudice is a topic for compulsory study in the Philosophy & Religion syllabus in Years 7 to 9. The Global Issues module is a compulsory course for Year 9 students and they study world conflicts, including conflicts arguably caused by British imperialism. The British Empire in the 19th century remains a taught module for A Level History students. Our Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) curriculum for all year groups covers diversity and discrimination, including racism and racial bias specifically.

However, there is more that we can do and we will reflect carefully and in a properly planned way, conscious of the fact that this is a complex academic debate with no simple answers. We realise, for example, that there is a lot more to Black History than simply teaching about the oppression of black people through slavery and colonialism; it has to be a celebration of achievements – and ensuring diverse voices are heard – as much as it has to help students to understand the roots of prejudice.

• Thirdly, putting diversity at the heart of our school is not just about the formal taught curriculum. It includes making conscious decisions about the assemblies we deliver, the books in the library, the speakers we invite, the clubs and societies we run, the plays we put on. It also means reviewing our recruitment and admissions practices to ensure these are fair and give people of all ethnicities fair access to work and study at South Hampstead. It means constantly keeping policies such as our anti-bullying policy under review and ensuring students feel they can speak up if they are the victims of prejudice. It means ensuring that students know how to speak intelligently, and from an informed basis, about prejudice. We have already run unconscious bias training for our teachers, and continue to integrate more education in this area.

We are committed to ensure that South Hampstead is a place where mutual respect and diversity can flourish, and it is our continued aim to open doors, hearts and minds. Thank you for helping us to do this together as a community.”