Celebrating Multicultural Week 2023

We reflect on a week filled with a variety of remarkable events as Alleyn’s second ever Multicultural Week draws to a close. Our eyes were drawn to the world flags hanging around the school as we entered on Monday morning, celebrating the diversity of our student body.

Organised by the Minority Students Union, the week featured a variety of events, starting with two Multicultural Dance Taster sessions on Monday delivered by Anita Makwana of Discover Dance UK. The first was with some of our dance enthusiasts in Year 9 and the second lunchtime session was open to all students. Participants were treated to rhythms spanning Reggaeton (Latin & Caribbean inspired music); Salsa, Arabic music, Bhangra and Afrobeats. As they warmed up and learned step after step to world music, the groups enjoyed learning new movements and exercises.

A busy lunchtime cultural calendar on Tuesday included two events in the Lower School building and one within the Drama department. In the Lower Atrium, mosaic pieces were cut and placed in situ to replicate the diversity and inclusion tree motif commonly seen throughout campus. Dionne Ible of Qemamu Mosaics led groups of Year 7, 8 & 9 pupils through the process of creating a mosaic inspired by the original drawing which Ella Semple created when she was in Year 7 (she is currently in Year 9). Look out for the finished piece when it is returned to Alleyn’s following the final stages of the mosaic creation process.

Courtesy of the London Chinese Community Centre, two Chinese Calligraphy workshops were held upstairs in the Flexi Space. The first was for a group of pupils in Year 7, followed by a workshop which included 15 of our Year 8 pupils who study Mandarin. In addition to learning the correct methods for handling, storing, and using brushes, they also learned about different types of script. The third event of the day was the Bear Pit: Spoken Word (Multicultural Week Special). The black box theatre held student performances that were a pleasure to watch.

The Pavilion hosted a lively Cultural Conversation Cafe on Wednesday, which featured student (and staff) -led talks on a diverse range of topics. Our tour of cultural heritage included self-portraits and triptychs, Daft Punk's history, and the perks of being a Bundesliga fan: a selection that had something for everyone.

On Thursday, approx. 25 pupils from the Junior School and a similar number from the Senior School came together to stage the highly anticipated Cultural Fashion Show. A fashion show of cultural attire and accessories was exhibited on the catwalk in the Great Hall – ranging from Chinese Qipao to Indian lehengas and Spanish football kits to Ghanian Kaftans. Mr Jalloh was the DJ for the event and kept the vibe and spirit high, alongside Nana-Yaw's informative commentary about culture and clothing.

Simon Severino, Head of Alleyn's Junior School, said "We witnessed a great deal of colour and loud music in the splendour of the Great Hall as Junior and Senior School pupils joined together to show off traditional costumes with which they had an association. Watching our children, from Reception upwards, parade proudly hand in hand with pupils from the Senior School in front of hundreds was quite something and a definite moment to treasure."

Throughout the week, the EAB hosted a powerful art exhibition featuring pieces from a variety of years. There is a moving backdrop to each student’s works, some of which are directly inspired by their parents’ migration to this country. All works express or represent either directly or indirectly multicultural identity and empowerment and are a celebration of diversity in our community. Alongside these student works we are lucky to be able to exhibit two large scale, powerful paintings by an award-winning artist, Johan Andersson, who is British, with a Black Swedish mother and a white British father and who is now based in LA. We are very grateful to Charles Boyd, an Alleyn’s parent, who has kindly allowed us to display them for this exhibition.

Congratulations and thank you to the organisers from the Minority Students Union, including student leaders from Year 13: An Qi , Nana-Yaw and Níamh as well as staff members who supported them - Mrs Visram, Mrs Maxwell, Mrs Francis, Mrs Mines and our Graduate Scholar in Residence, Florence Stevens. Thanks also to our Events, AV and team of porters who were essential in the success of the week. Widespread support from SLT and around the school suggests that there is more to look forward to from Multicultural Weeks of the future and as a member or friend of our community, if you would like to get involved in the future, please email us on [email protected].