Every year on 21 May, communities come together to celebrate not only the richness of the world’s cultures, but also the essential role of intercultural dialogue for achieving peace and sustainable development, in World Day for Cultural Diversity. 
It was this world-wide initiative that inspired a group of boys in the Afro-Caribbean Society to galvanise boys and staff to, for the first time, showcase and recognise the richness of our community’s cultural diversity to celebrate and educate others about the varied heritage within our school.
Mrs Ore Okusanya, who leads the Afro-Caribbean Society, told us, “It’s truly remarkable that we can do this, and I’m excited to see us embrace diversity, respect for one another, and build an inclusive and supportive community together. The boys have worked very hard to make this day happen, and I am proud of them.”
Boys and staff were encouraged to come to school dressed in cultural outfits or the colours of their national flags, and the boys organised a myriad of activities throughout the day, including Foods of the World served for lunch in our Dining Hall which gave boys an opportunity to indulge in culinary delights from across the globe.
Lunch was followed by a Flag Treasure Hunt with music and dancing around the Inky Pitch, along with snacks tasting from different cultures.
Pin Your Heritage on the Map has been a lot of fun and open to everyone in school to pin their heritage to depict and celebrate the diversity within our school.
The boys also led a school assembly to commemorate and celebrate cultural diversity.
In the classroom, teachers were encouraged to include cultural references into their lessons, for example discussing various outfits worn by boys from different cultures.
Fourth Former Daniel Lushchay, who represented Ukraine, explained, “The main aim of culture day in my perspective is to celebrate and enjoy each other’s cultures. This school is incredibly culturally diverse and to not talk and understand all of these different upbringings and surroundings would be a loss. Ultimately, it’s a way to understand people better, someone’s culture is a massive part of their identity, and this event helps everyone to appreciate each other better.”
