We are actively working to be an inclusive community in which all members feel a true sense of belonging. 

PrideSoc was formed at Highgate Senior School in 2009 by teacher Mr Plaistowe who runs the sessions every Friday lunchtime with fellow teacher Mr Jack. The society was one of the first of its kind to be founded in a school, offering pupils a safe space and a platform to openly represent the LGBTQ+ community, regardless of their sexual orientation. We spoke to pupils for our Highgate Voices blog series, as they prepared to take part in the iconic Pride Parade in London alongside their peers at London Academy of Excellence, Tottenham.

Highgate’s Bystander Intervention course for sixth formers runs during the Michaelmas term as part of their PSHE provision. The theory explores problematic behaviour and delves into the psychology around what makes people more likely to intervene in challenging situations. It progresses to practical scenarios that give young people the language and confidence to step in safely.

Pupils work collaboratively on the project over the Summer Term to research the culture and diversity of the following cities: New York, Cape Town, Melbourne, Rio, Tokyo, Dublin, San Francisco. All pupils look at these cities with an eye to infographics on the diversity of different cities – religions, ethnicities, gender, languages; the linguistic diversity and Pride celebrations. This project is in its second year, getting bigger and better, with a truly cross-curricular agenda.

Over the course of a year, a Pre-Prep child will take home approximately 180 books. We recently audited the texts that the children had access to, to see how representative they were of the world around us. We then made a significant purchase of new texts that cover a wider range of topics in our home readers, classroom books and library. ‘Look up’ by Nathan Bryon, ‘Hats of Faith’ by Medeia Cohan and ‘We are all wonders’ by RJ Palacio are now found in every classroom.