Student Forum: Black in Suburbia – October 2025

To wrap up our various events raising awareness about Black History Month, we organised our first Student Forum of the year on the topic of Black in Suburbia.

It was humbling to listen to students across age groups about their experiences of navigating a white-dominated world as a student from an ethnic minority.

The students from Black origin and Asian heritage reported being at the receiving end of microaggressions too often downplayed or presented as ‘jokes’, with their names being confused with another student or remarks stereotyping what their ethnic background is associated with.

We discussed the lack of understanding and education surrounding cultures other than White British and the need to educate against prejudice and ignorance.

At MGGS, we take student voice seriously and this academic year, we have started to work with Hemisphere – an online unconscious bias training tool that has been developed by diversity specialists-  to develop racial literacy among our staff and students.

We have also started a ‘working group’ so that students can have some input into the delivery of PSHE to make the content relevant. We are planning to design activities that encourage  discussing ideas and opinions in a non-judgemental way, to discover new perspectives and cultural traditions, to ensure the sessions are impactful develop a sense of belonging. 

I am grateful to all the students who shared their experiences with me and look forward to continue our work alongside Hemisphere to make MGGS a place where we can all belong.

Mrs N Lawrence – Assistant Headteacher for Key Stage 3 – Student Voice & EDI Lead