HEAD’S VIEW
Deputy Head's View
Allison Hadwin - Deputy Head (Chaplain & Pastoral) 12 June 2020
In a week where our young people have led the way with their passionate call for justice for all, I begin the Gateway with a photo of Maya Angelou, one of my role models, and I invite you to be inspired as you listen to her rendition of ‘And still I rise’.
Over 600 of our present pupils and alumnae have signed a letter to the school, asking that we do more to defeat the scourge that is racism, and this is what we as a school will pledge to do. We are proud of our multicultural and diverse community, where every person is equally precious, and is of infinite worth. We will continue to uphold our core values: courageous, honest and kind, as we seek to implement those changes necessary to bring about greater understanding and a better world.
A response from the school by our Chair of Governors can be found on our here.
Amnesty Online Newsletter
The Abbey School Amnesty International Society have posted their second online newsletter. It specifically addresses the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement. Please do read it. A copy can be found attached to the Gateway.
Support of BLM Movement
An U6 Art student and Art Scholar, Felicity has created this response to the BLM movement.
Watercolour and gold ink.
“Everyone deserves the freedom to spread their wings and break the mask others place upon their faces” This is the title/ caption I gave the piece when sharing it.
I created this piece in light of the Black Lives Matter movement which has been the main focus of much of the news and social media recently. I was unsure what to personally say about it, yet still wanted to support the movement. Artwork is how I have been able to communicate my thoughts in the past so this is how I came to create the piece.
I wanted the piece to represent the strength of the people, the traumatic things that have happened, as well as the value of the freedom they fight for. A crouched, relaxed figure holds a certain strength. The hand on the throat and the quote “I can’t breathe” written across the cheek symbolises George Floyd as a reminder of how he passed and what sparked the movement. I gave the figure a cracked mask to represent how others might view black people as a single body and not take the time to look at the person beneath before taking action. Wings symbolise the freedom the people fight for. Small highlights of gold show the value of this freedom.
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