Kwame, Toju and Henry – all members of Abingdon School’s student DEI committee discuss Culture Day – their brand new initiative which will take place on 4 July.
First and foremost, can you tell me a little more about the purpose of the DEI committee?
Ours is a relatively new committee – it’s only about 5 years old and it brings together a group of individuals who are actively seeking to make the school a more welcoming, diverse and genuine place to be. We work closely with the School’s senior leadership team and the staff led DEI committee to help implement positive change within the School. This has included, most recently, the addition of a multi-faith prayer room so that students of different faiths have a safe, dedicated place to go and reflect and worship.
We are always looking for ways to improve and would love to welcome as many students as would like to be involved. The bigger and more diverse our committee is, the more effective we feel we can be.
What is it about DEI that is so important?
Our hope is that it will increase people’s awareness of our community and how we interact with one another. We believe that each individual should be celebrated – for their differences, as much as their similarities. That’s one of the reasons we wanted to host a Culture Day. The idea is that everyone in the School – staff and students alike – can come dressed in something that they believe illustrates who they are as an individual – whether that’s national dress or the kit of your favourite football team. We’re organising music, a BBQ lunch and we are keeping our finger’s crossed for good weather. By focusing our attention on individuality, we hope that everyone will focus on and celebrate the amazing diversity that we have at Abingdon.
How do you feel about the announcement that the School will be welcoming girls from 2026?
The addition of girls to both School and to our committee will be a fantastic change. It will help us gain a different perspective and help us to communicate better together so that when we leave School we can be confident about how to speak to and act around women.
Culture Day takes place on 4 July.
Come dressed as something that represents you as an individual.
It’s going to be fun!
