After much planning and consideration, we held our first Celebration of Cultures Day on Friday 20^th January at the College.

Despite the very frosty January weather, it was wonderful to see so many of our Sixth Form students and staff come into school in cultural attire. From Ecuador to Nepal, Pakistan to Palestine, the day was very much a celebration of the rich diversity and heritage we have among our students and staff.

The planning for the event began three years ago during the first lockdown with Mrs Priya Barai, Teacher of Geography, and the then Upper Sixth Form student, and Hope Society Founder, Hope Dandjinou, imagining the event.

The celebrations began at break time when the Hope Society set up a food stall selling snacks from all over the world. The students patiently queued up for foods like hot samosas, Turkish borek, and Japanese seaweed crips, with all profits going to The Runnymede Trust.

Then at lunch, the students feasted on a selection of foods from all over the world. They were joined by a selection of Year 6 pupils from the Junior School who came to experience the celebrations at the College to help inspire their own Celebration of Cultures Day in May.

The highlight of the day was most certainly the Cultural Catwalk during lunchtime. With a packed-out Appleby Studio, all set up and ready with a red carpet catwalk, our staff and students were greeted with great applause and a feeling of warmth and incredible support. After their turn on the catwalk, each person paused and proudly described what sort of clothing they were wearing, where it was from, and for what occasion they would wear it. There was a genuine sense of wanting to learn about everybody’s story and heritage; to discover more about their peers around them.

We were pleased to be joined by the original founder of the Hope Society, Hope Dandjinou, and St George’s Governor and EDI specialist, Tania Bowden, who said: “Today was a celebration of colour in every way, and it was great to see everybody embracing the event and wanting it to be a success.”

Mrs Barai said, “I am incredibly proud to be an EDI lead at St George’s College, a school where Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion mean an open and safe environment for all, where difference is recognised and celebrated.

“Our Celebration of Cultures Day has been the perfect embodiment of this. Seeing our students and staff come into school, proudly wearing their cultural attire, what felt like the whole school waiting patiently for their chance to pick up some cultural snacks at the break time, and being a part of the highly successful Cultural Catwalk are just some of the moments from today that have left me feeling utterly overwhelmed with gratitude. 2023 was our inaugural Celebration of Cultures Day and so, it is with absolute joy that I can say, we will definitely be doing this again - every year in fact