Students chosen to help fight homophobic bullying

STUDENTS at Lord Williams’s School, Thame, have been chosen by the gay-rights charit Stonewall, to design campaigns to address homophobic language and bullying.

Year 10 assembly ‘Stonewall’ assembly

Students in Year 10, led by Amy Hunt, produced a video which told the story of a female student, played by Katie Wakeling, who felt the need to hide her sexuality because of fear of prejudice and the lack of positive images of same sex couples. Students presented this video to a Year 8 assembly, encouraging students to be good role models in the school community.

Year 12 students, led by Zac Kilroy-Silk, also filmed a video about a young man getting to grips with the term “gay” and how its meaning has changed over time. They challenged the use of the word gay to mean something “broken”, “useless” or “defective” and encouraged their Year 9 audience to embrace diversity within society. The film was made by Jonny Gardner-Cobb and the lead role was played by Hamish Riddell.

The film was followed by a balloon race so that students could spread their message far and wide. They designed a logo for the balloons with the slogan “Change the Meaning”. They made sure that everything they used was eco-friendly and bio-degradable. A prize will be awarded to the person who finds the balloon which lands furthest from Thame.

The film and photographs of the events will be available to view on the school’s website www.lordwilliams.oxon.sch.uk

School Manager, Dawn Armitage, said: “The students have worked extremely hard on their campaigns and have produced high quality resources which we can share with the rest of the school community. They have shown great commitment to promoting equality and diversity and we are very proud of them and their achievements.”