Pupils reflect on the importance and impact of LGBTQ+ History Month

Throughout February, schools and colleges from across the Thinking Schools Academy Trust have been learning about and celebrating LGBTQ+ history by engaging in a variety of activities and events.

Pupils within the Trust have been exploring LGBTQ+ rights while also celebrating the inclusive and safe spaces our schools and community provide to that community.

At The Portsmouth Academy, some of our pupils have been engaged in activities tailored to their age about celebrating equality, diversity and inclusion.

This week, a selection of our pupils have completed ‘I am Beautiful’ hearts, which include a phrase by the person writing in the heart about why they believe they are beautiful.

In response to the most interesting thing pupils have learned about LGBTQ+ History Month, Lenny said:

“For me, it would be learning about the lives, the stories of all these brave people throughout the time period, and how they struggled with their issues in the past. I enjoyed learning about musicians, such as Elton John, as even people who were bigotry against them can still come up to do great things in life.”

Another pupil added:

“It has been good to explore and understand the range of identities or sexualities. You don't really think there are too many past a certain point, but there really are. There are so many ways for someone to express themselves, and I'm happy that people get to express themselves in a way they feel is most appropriate.”

The Trust-wide We Are One event focused on the message that everyone is different, no matter their interests, preferences, backgrounds, or identities.

Schools across Thinking Schools Academy Trust also received assembly packs and classroom activities to support the delivery of helping people understand LGBTQ+ matters.

Lenny said:

“I believe it’s important to raise awareness about LGBTQ+ history because it's still a fighting battle for so many people. We're not learning about history because it's something that happened so long ago; we are learning about it because it keeps happening now, and people need to learn how that oppression has been through the ages and how big of a problem it truly is.”

Another pupil, who didn’t wish to be named, added:

“A lot of people might be a little confused about what they are or how they're feeling. It's important that everyone learns about that so they can explore their own identity or help friends or people they know explore theirs.”

You can learn more about what schools across the Thinking Schools Academy Trust have been doing for LGBTQ+ History Month throughout February by clicking here.