International Women's Day

Girls and boys from Year 6 took part in an assembly to celebrate International Women’s Day which is held annually on 8^th March around the world. We heard how the day celebrates the social, cultural and political achievements of women whilst also addressing the issue of accelerating gender balance in our current society.

We were reminded of the story of Malala and her fight for the education of girls in Pakistan. The children acted out a short piece about Mathilde Hidalgo, who graduated as the first female doctor in Ecuador and was the first woman to vote in a general election in South America. We then came right up to date with a piece about an American lady, Linda Miller, who was project manager at Farringdon Station for five years working on Crossrail. She encourages all young women she meets to consider careers in engineering; including the children of Crossrail staff. In 2017 she was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for "services to engineering and to promoting gender equality”.

We heard some inspirational quotes from Helen Keller and of course a reminder of the work and changes that the Suffragette movement brought about in this country, one hundred years ago. Well done to all our Year 6 volunteers for reminding us that women have often had to work hard to obtain the recognition they are due and that in many parts of the world that struggle for education and equality continues today.