SPEAK UP, SPEAK OUT!

Black History Month   

On 24th October, Year 9 students were given the opportunity to attend the University of Surrey’s Speak Up! Speak Out! Black History Month event run by the department of Widening Participation and Outreach.

On arrival we were introduced to the exciting medium of spoken word poetry and considered how we can use it as a platform to comment on discrimination in an expressive way. We learned about the history, culture and contributions of black people in Britain and beyond, through creating and performing our own spoken word pieces across the day.  We heard from the University’s African-Caribbean Society, who led a thought-provoking debate on why we observe Black History Month in the UK and were presented a ‘Spoken Word Workshop’ by a current Theatre & Performance student.

The event inspired us to develop our creative writing, independent working and performance skills, and this encouraged us to consider the importance to society of standing together and speaking out against the unfair treatment of others. In addition, we gained an insight into study and life at university through engagement with Student Ambassadors, and we looked at and considered some of the career pathways and options available to us in the future.

It was a stunning day out and we wish to thank Dr Joe Hickinbottom, the Widening Participation & Outreach Officer, for an interesting and inspiring day.