The Culture Council is a club at the Appleton School that comes together to think of ideas to improve inclusivity and diversity within the school. I interviewed the club’s founder, Reece Larwood, to learn more about the club.
He was inspired to start the club after noticing the lack of diversity in both the curriculum and education system; as an English teacher, he noticed that GCSE texts studied are predominantly by white men. “I think that it’s really important to celebrate and understand different cultures.” He added: “I think that as a school we lack in terms of a diverse curriculum and as an education system we lack diversity. “Within the English curriculum, all the GCSE texts we study are normally by old white men and there’s no real diversity. So, I want to make sure the school is reflecting on that considering it’s becoming more and more diverse every year.” His favourite moment from the club was when the club first started because of the excitement he saw from the students. “They felt like their voice was finally being heard. Particularly, some students who felt like the school potentially didn’t do as much as it should have. It has a lot to do still and we’re slowly making our way to becoming more and more diverse.” A typical session within the culture council would normally consist of having conversations about what they’ve found in the school that they feel should be changed in some way and how to improve diversity within the school. “My hopes [for the club] are to eventually make this school as diverse as it possibly can be and for every student to feel recognised and seen. Whether that be in the corridors or within the curriculum.”
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