STUDENTS celebrated ethnic diversity in style with a week of culture organised by two prefects.
Mariama Cham and Summer Ainslie decided to organise a daylong spectacular, the culmination of a week-long to reflection of the changing nature of Haughton Academy, as Darlington becomes home to more people from different nations.
“We wanted to host a culture event because we wanted students to be more aware of the different ethnicities around school, especially as different ethnic minorities are increasing at our academy and across the town,” said Mariama. “We feel it is important for everyone to be represented.”
Summer added: “What struck me was how much enthusiasm there was for the event, students were so excited and happy. It is really important to celebrate other cultures because students need to be educated about what is going on around the world. It gave us a chance to showcase diversity and tie in all the different cultures we have in the school.”
English teacher Ilsa Mehboob had high praise for the students: “They asked if they could organise the culture day and it meant a lot to be able to show the different cultures we have at Haughton,” she said. “Mariama and Summer did an amazing job putting all this together.”
Students were treated to drum and music performances, played games from around the world, enjoyed international displays, were able to taste food from around the globe and have henna art painted on their hands.
