All the pupils and staff were encouraged to wear some form of cultural attire, which could be anything from a piece of jewellery to represent their cultural heritage to full cultural wear. It was wonderful to see the pupils embrace the day with their choice of clothing or other piece of culture. From Columbia to Canada, Ghana, to Greece, Japan to Jordan, Italy to Iran; there was a true feeling of joy that the whole world was present in one school day.

The day followed a special timetable with the pupils participating in exciting activities, all centered around creating their own special ‘passport’ to explore and learn about different countries and gain a stamp for each country visited.

Music was a major feature of the day with Mrs Ault and her team leading wonderful singing for the pupils, which they enthusiastically enjoyed, singing a version of ‘What a Wonderful World’

The highlight of the day was undoubtedly the Cultural Disco. Over the last few weeks, pupils have been learning the ‘Candy Dance’ (by Cameo, representing North America). They performed this spectacularly as a whole school, followed by freestyle dancing to tracks chosen to represent different genres of music and different continents of the world, giving the pupils an appreciation of the variety of musical expression across cultures. The chosen songs were:

La Bamba by Ritchie Valens, representing South America.
Jai Ho by A.R. Rahman and The Pussycat Dolls, representing Asia.
Where are you now by Lost Frequencies and Calum Scott, representing Europe.
Peru – Fireboy DML and Ed Sheeran, representing Africa.

Lunch was also given a cultural twist. While we wouldn’t dream of not serving pupils’ Friday favourite of fish and chips, it was accompanied by breads from around the world. The bread was all handmade on-site by Head Chef Yumi Hogben and her team Jacqui Crook, Kim Greenhorn and Jake Knight. The delicious smell of freshly baked bread filled the air, and pupils and staff enjoyed tucking into wonderful warm Coco Bread from Jamaica, Baguettes from France, Chapatis from India, Naan Bread from Pakistan, Vetkoek from South Africa, and many more.

The inaugural event was a huge success, with Tania Bowden, St George’s Governor with a special interest in EDI saying:

“It was a privilege to be part of a such a wonderful, well-structured day; music, dance, costumes, and food were all used to their best advantage to celebrate the Cultural Diversity Day. The pupils moved from one activity to another, tailored for each year group, learning facts about different countries, creating their own flags of imaginary countries, and using their passports to 'visit' different countries. The weather was kind but even if it had not been, I don't think it would have affected the day. A true celebration of the many different cultures and heritages at the Junior School embraced by the pupils and the teachers, in equal measure. Who knew so many of the teachers could dance so well?! “

We look forward to this becoming an annual event and a big feature in the St George’s Junior School calendar. Thank you to all involved.

Congratulations to all that helped organise the day and we look forward to this annual event becoming a big feature of the St George’s College Junior School calendar.