On March 8th the school celebrated International Womens Day with a school assembly dedicated to the fight for the right for women to be given the vote, well timed with the celebration of 100 years since the Representation of the Peoples Act, opening the way to full political equality of women with men.
Placing the assembly in 1914, a Year 8 took on the challenge of explaining the difference between the Suffragette and the Womens suffrage movement and the different methods used to bring the debate for womens suffrage to a successful conclusion.
For a week before hand there was a flurry of banner and sash making while learning suffrage songs. Research was done, films were watched and finally a script was written to put the case for the two different sides of the campaign to persuade the government to take action to give women the vote. All was put into the context of a TV programme with wonderful presenters ad libbing, masterfully, their links to each side.
Asking the girls afterwards how they felt about the assembly they gave some insightful answers. Apart from the amount they learnt, they were thrilled with the chance to address the whole school as a class and felt strongly the sense of bonding and the power of working together as they marched up the aisle singing a song and waving their banners. What hit them most was the understanding of just what sacrifices were made by the women before us to gain women the right we almost take for granted. That these names in history were real women who fought that our dreams may come true and we have the opportunities to reach our potential. As one Year 8 said afterwards, she hoped there were more opportunities in store for them to do something like this. All in all a great way to celebrate and remember our heritage!
