Woodhouse Grove’s first ever Culture Week draws to a close – and what a week it has been.

We began with a delicious bake sale – with all proceeds going to the City of Sanctuary charity, which builds networks across the UK to provide support, dignity and welcome to refugees and people seeking sanctuary.

Students and staff placed stickers on a giant world map to show where they are from. From Trinidad and Tobago to China, the stickers demonstrated how lucky we are to have such an incredible, diverse community here at The Grove.

On Tuesday, staff and pupils were able to have their names written in Mandarin by some of our boarders.

The catering staff joined in throughout the week, providing tuck shop options from around the world, including samosas, spring rolls and gulab jamun.

Bollywood beats filled the Quad on Wednesday breaktime as dozens of students embraced the opportunity to learn a Bollywood dance routine with Mrs Vernon and Miss Thompson. Many others enjoyed watching!

Thursday was The Grove’s first Culture Day. Pupils and staff were warmly encouraged to dress in something that celebrated their cultural heritage. Or, alternatively, something bright and colourful. It was wonderful to see so many members of our community proudly celebrating who they are.

This was especially the case in our Culture Week Fashion Show. Opened by a lone Scottish piper (Mr Lambert), we then saw students and staff representing Scotland, Australia, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, England, Jamaica, Spain, Ukraine, Afghanistan, China, and Turkey. Many more were represented throughout the school but chose not to walk in the show. The pupils participating demonstrated such joy and pride in their heritage – it was truly powerful to watch. Some really pushed themselves out of their comfort zone to walk down the catwalk and represent their country – and the watching Grove community did not let them down, enthusiastically cheering every single one. What a moment when Yuliia, representing Ukraine, walked beautifully down the catwalk on her own. The roar from the watching Grovians said it all. Four boys from the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group then ended the show with a brilliantly choreographed dance routine – they’d obviously been practising! A perfect finale.

A round of applause must go to Mrs Vernon, Head of Wellbeing and PSHEE, for introducing Culture Week into Grove life and for organising it so brilliantly. The impact it has had on the school has been unprecedented. It has shown us all what an amazing, diverse and inclusive place Woodhouse Grove is and highlighted what a true privilege it is to be part of this wonderful community.

Well done also to our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Group, particularly the Head Prefects Nablie and Hritik for their hard work in pitching, planning, organising and rolling out this week. They have all been a credit to The Grove and should be beyond proud.

I am an individual, yet I am part of something incredible.

I am Grovian.

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