Creating a More Understanding World

Student leadership has long been a strong feature of life at Alleyn’s, and it is no surprise that our pupils take an active role in providing a platform for minority groups and combating racism.

We hear from three student leaders of the Alleyn's Minority Students Union (MSU), An Qi, Nana-Yaw and Niamh, on their passion to help everyone appreciate, understand, and embrace differences to create a more understanding world and a more understanding Alleyn’s. 

Why does MSU exist at Alleyn's?

An Qi in Year 13 said: 

“The Minority Students Union exists as a safe and supportive space for the minority students of Alleyn’s to voice their thoughts, as well as a space for discussion of current issues between pupils and staff of any race and ethnicity to help the development of educated and informed opinions.  

“Representation is vital in enabling the embrace of identity, and I feel it is especially important for minority students in a predominantly white, middle-class, school setting such as Alleyn’s.  

“The MSU creates this representation through biweekly meetings, assemblies, and other inclusive events, such as Multicultural Week, that spotlight often underrepresented or misrepresented ethnic identities.” 

Nana-Yaw in Year 13 added: 

“The MSU is open to everyone from Year 7 to Year 13, and we encourage as many people as possible to join us. We believe it is extremely important that everyone and anyone feels welcome to come to our meetings regardless of background. As Alleyn’s is a predominantly white cohort, we aim to focus on spreading awareness and sharing perspectives of minority groups. This ensures that voices that may not be as commonly heard are given a platform and invites everyone to be an ally – a supporter of people from historically marginalised and under-represented groups.” 

What are your aims for MSU? 

Niamh, Year 13 said: 

“In MSU, we often tackle trending topics of discussion that relate to race. We aim to have a space where everyone feels comfortable in MSU, and, by openly discussing difficult topics, we can better understand the different points of view involved in different incidents in the world. This can then inform our words and actions in Alleyn’s and elsewhere to prevent racial injustices repeating themselves.  

“We strive to create a more understanding world and a more understanding Alleyn’s in MSU. Students are not obligated to say anything in MSU, if they experience racial injustice in or outside of school. However, the warm environment as well as the delicate topics of discussion, have occasionally prompted students who may not have said otherwise to express their situation and for the appropriate action to be taken, creating a positive change in Alleyn’s.  

“Moreover, the events MSU plan and provide give immersive ways for the student body to appreciate and understand all the different types of people in the world, leading to a more understanding school.  

“I am proud that we have come to the point in Alleyn’s where we have so many engaging events during the year such as during Multicultural Week and during Black History Month for the student body. Not to mention, the student-led assemblies by MSU are great to relay an impactful message to all sections of the school. Having such events in place every year will leave a long-lasting impact in Alleyn’s and therefore the world.” 

What sorts of events do you plan, and why? 

Nana-Yaw said: 

“Multicultural Week is one initiative organised by MSU. It was created to celebrate the coalescence of cultures here at Alleyn’s, and beyond. We aimed to provide as many events and activities as possible for everyone here, students and staff. Through this we can broaden our world view and deepen our understanding that the differences between cultures is something to be appreciated, not condemned, or used as a basis for discrimination.  

“Multicultural Week is important for a reason so obvious to us that we all take it for granted; we live life seeing through only one pair of eyes. Because of this we are inherently biased towards things that align with and relate to our personal experience of life. This narrows our perspective of the world, creating echo-chambers within our lives where we see and hear the same opinions and cultures regurgitated around us.  

“Multiculturalism allows us to combat this narrowness and learn to see the world from many different people’s points of view. If we stay within our cultural bubble, no matter what culture that may be, we will find it difficult to understand people who think or act differently to ourselves, and we will be all the lesser for it. It would be all too easy to say, “I don’t understand them, they’re too different,” but it is in our struggle to learn about others, that we ourselves can change and grow for the better.  

“We are unified in the fact that we all are different. Learning to appreciate, understand and embrace those differences is what unites us as human beings. We will ultimately gain greater understanding of ourselves and what matters to us by embracing and learning from those who are different than us. A life lived only bothering to look through your own eyes, is no life at all. 

“Earlier in the year, as part of research for Black History Month, a few members of the MSU along with some teachers organised and went on a “black history bus tour” around London. This tour was enlightening, exemplifying the influence that black people have had in the capital far further back in time than most would think.  

“We encourage everyone to come along to the MSU and hope that we have made a positive impact as the union’s leaders.”  

Find out more about Alleyn's Multicultural Week 2023 here.