Gallery: Celebrating cultural diversity at King’s

Taking a lead from the UN’s World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development on Tuesday, 21 May, we have spent the whole week celebrating the rich cultural diversity in our school community.

Infant and junior pupils have enjoyed a series of special assemblies and activities through the week, including a cultural show-and-tell in Willow Lodge which saw children bring in artefacts and costumes from home to share with their friends. 

In Senior School, the week culminated in a special day of cultural celebration organised by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion pupil group, and EDI coordinator, Miss Higgins. 

Pupils were encouraged to dress in a way that reflected their heritage and, along with a colourful array of football, cricket, rugby and ice hockey shirts, many pupils took the opportunity to wear traditional dress. 

Miss Higgins said: “It has been absolutely joyous to see the pupils embrace the spirit of today with such enthusiasm and genuine excitement. 

“They have enjoyed learning about their classmates’ heritage and culture as much as they have enjoyed sharing elements of their own, and I have loved seeing those small but important exchanges taking place all day.”

A Cultural Fayre was held in the gallery and the quad with a variety of games and activities on offer. Highlights included henna painting, garden games in the quad, face painting and, of course, a  selection of delicious food from around the world. 

Pupils sampled snacks and baked goods from all continents, including a delicious Burmese cake, Nigerian chin-chin, Czech apple strudel and the Australian favourite, vegemite.

Shreyas and Visakh, both in Shells, were kept busy as they served traditional Indian puri, with many pupils – and staff – coming back for seconds! Another popular choice was the Spaghettieis – a German ice cream favourite – served by Mrs Rowley-Williams and her Shells tutor group.

Miss Higgins summed up a joyous day of celebration: “It has been wonderful to celebrate and share our school’s rich cultural diversity. 

“A number of pupils have thanked me for today, which shows how important it is that we have opportunities to celebrate everyone’s heritage and culture.

“Huge thanks to the staff and pupils who made the day possible, particularly members of the EDI pupil group and our newly appointed lead prefects whose engagement and organisation made today such a success.”

Enjoy this selection of images from the Senior School celebration day:

[Show slideshow]