Co-Curricular

On Wednesday 4 February Lana Kiddell from our school Pride Group and Mrs Scott, EDI Officer, gave an assembly to commemorate LGBTQ+ History Month. A story is a powerful thing. Stories can unite, divide, inspire and soothe us and I truly do not believe that there is a single human alive who has not been moved by a story in some way. Stories, and books in particular, are amazing vehicles for empathy and connection. They allow us to step into someone else’s shoes, to experience a world that is not our own, and to gain insight into what it feels like to be someone else. Through stories, we come to understand people we may never meet, lives we may never live, and perspectives far beyond our own. In many ways, all of human existence is preserved through stories. And because of that, I often find myself wondering whose stories we choose to tell, and whose stories are lost to time because of their identity, their background, or their social standing. February marks LGBTQ+ History Month, and a key part of any history month is storytelling. LGBTQ+ stories have often been marginalised, suppressed, or erased altogether. For much of history, Queer people were forced to hide their identities and communities for fear of persecution, punishment, or exclusion. As a result, many stories were never shared openly, and many were deliberately silenced. Today, we are going to shine a light on just a few LGBTQ+ stories that deserve to be heard, because they help us understand the world, and one another, more fully. One of the most well-known figures in British literary history is Oscar Wilde. Wilde was celebrated in his lifetime for his wit, his intelligence, and his writing. His plays and books were extremely popular and still are today. Despite his fame, Wilde was imprisoned for being gay in 1895. After his conviction, his reputation was destroyed. His work was removed from theatres, his name became a source of shame, and for many years his writing was dismissed or ignored. Wilde’s story reminds us that even the most brilliant voices can be silenced when society decides that someone’s identity makes them unacceptable. Despite this, Oscar Wilde’s work is now widely celebrated and shared along with his LGBTQ+ identity. Where Wilde shows us how stories can be suppressed, Audre Lorde shows us how storytelling can be an act of resistance. Lorde described herself as a Black, lesbian mother, warrior poet. She wrote unapologetically about identity, power, love, and injustice, refusing to separate who she was from what she wrote, contributing a powerful voice to the civil rights movement. One of her famous quotes “Your silence does not protect you” reminds us that speaking up about injustice is powerful and important, and that remaining quiet does nothing to protect ourselves or others. She understood that telling your story, especially when the world would prefer you not to, is an act of courage. Her work challenges readers to listen to voices they may not be used to hearing, and to recognise that our differences are not weaknesses, but sources of strength. More recently, we are seeing LGBTQ+ stories shared more openly, particularly in literature for young people. One example is Alice Oseman, creator of the now iconic Heartstopper series, whose work centres queer characters living ordinary, everyday lives, forming friendships, falling in love, struggling, and growing. These are not stories defined by tragedy or secrecy, but they are universally relatable experiences. For many young people, reading stories like these can be the first time they truly see themselves reflected in a book. And for others, it may be their first opportunity to understand experiences different from their own. That matters. Seeing yourself in a story can be affirming, but learning about someone else through a story is how empathy grows. So LGBTQ+ History Month is not just about looking backwards. It is about asking ourselves what we do with stories now. Whose voices do we listen to, and how can we learn from the past to more positively shape the future. Stories help us understand one another. They remind us that people are complex, layered, and deserving of respect. When we choose to listen to stories that are not about us, we practise empathy. And when we make space for all stories to be told, we create a world where fewer people feel invisible, unheard, or alone. If you would like to get involved in celebrating LGBTQ+ history month please join us this lunchtime in the Undercroft where we will be creating a display for LGBTQ+ history month and making a badges with a visitor from the LGBTQ+ project. Thank you.