“Education is not just about passing exams, it’s about building young people’s confidence and this involves empowering them to challenge prejudice and ignorance in all its forms.”
Students at Samuel Ryder School marked the end of LGBT+ History Month, which took place throughout February, with a visit from Daisy Cooper MP for a discussion on the importance of inclusivity, diversity and allyship.
The talk and Q&A with sixth form students was livestreamed to the rest of the school as part of its own LGBT+ History Week, also held in February.
Questions from students included ‘What progress on LGBT+ inclusion has been made in the last 15 years?’, ‘Is St Albans a more inclusive place than others?’ and ‘What have Liberal Democrats done to help shift attitudes?’
Daisy said: “A report released last summer revealed that LGBT+ school pupils are still finding it unacceptably tough growing up and at school.
“Education is not just about passing exams, it’s about building young people’s confidence and this involves empowering them to challenge prejudice and ignorance in all its forms. So it was great to see the students at Samuel Ryder really engaging with these important topics, and I was pleased to hear some really thought-provoking questions.
“As I told the students, we’ve got a great track record here in St Albans of being active, vocal supporters of diversity and inclusivity – we’re the home of LGBT+ charity Ask for Clive, now a nationwide initiative.”
Sam Butcher, who is part of the team of staff that runs an LGBTQ group at Samuel Ryder, says that the school tries to incorporate LGBT+ teaching in its curriculum throughout the year, as well as creating and holding training for all its staff.