Mar 2Equality Diversity Inclusion Programme
Lunar New Year
17 February 2026
As you know the focus for this year ED&I is to promote our Student Leadership Voices which is powerful way to encourage and create a more inclusive school culture.
I would like to say a big thank you to the following student voices for their careful planning and preparation to deliver a fantastic whole school assembly today,11 February 2026 with the support of Ms Pan: Maya T. 11L, Olivia L. 11L, RouJia Z. 9T
"Today we carried out an assembly on Lunar New Year, it was really great to collaborate with other East and South East Asians who also shared aspects of my culture, and celebrated Lunar New Year as well! Maya T. 11L
Paper Dragon Puppets Workshop!
Tuesday 24 February, Lunchtime 1.25 -2.05pm:
Ms Pan and the following students in year 9 will be delivering a workshop: Kylie, Kristy, Ashley, Asha, Kayla
LGBT+ Month- February 2026
The theme for LGBT+ History Month 2026 is Science & Innovation
Diverse teams are essential for the development of solutions which benefit everyone, yet we might often struggle to name LGBT+ scientists and innovators. The 2026 theme for LGBT+ History Month aims to highlight the contributions of LGBT+ people historically and today, and to raise awareness of the people behind them.
Miss Whittenburg – led the whole school assemblies highlighting innovators Then & Now:
- Dr Ronx Ikharia- Non-binary A&E doctor and TV presenter
- Alan Turing- Gay computer scientist and mathematician
- Sophie Wilson-Transgender computer scientist
- Katie Bodha – Queer fashion designer
The assemblies were educational and provided everyone with an actionable takeaway message ‘Think about how you can contribute to making your school and community a more welcoming place for everyone’.
Holocaust Memorial Day Trust - 27 January 2026
The theme of HMD for 2026 is Bridging Generation, more information can be found on the following link:
Bridging Generations: Theme for 2026
Miss Edwards- led the whole school Holocaust Memorial assemblies which were delivered in the main hall. There were 6 assemblies scheduled over the two weeks starting from the week beginning on the 19th and 26th January. Each assembly provided a valuable insight and education into the history of the Holocaust.
Every pupil at the school received the assembly and form time resources, ensuring our school community marks Holocaust Memorial Day, and commemorates those who have lost their lives to genocide.
Alan Sennit Upstander's Leadership Programme ASULP 2025
As a school we are proud to have 10 students from Year 10 who have been picked to be a part of the Alan Sennit Programme after going through an application process. During the programme the students have attended 4 day long seminars, including hosting the last seminar at Copthall school. The students have met young people from other schools and have learnt about their backgrounds.
The ASULP team has delivered three key milestones on their journey:
An assembly to year 8 outlining their project plan–which was well received by staff and students.The team worked together to organise a whole-school raffle, delivering their messages at form time, break time and also assemblies. Their hard work and commitment paid off, raising enough funds to produce individual care packages for the year 6 curriculum event.
The student’s leadership skills flourished when they took part and supported the first transition programme at Copthall School, supporting the current year 6 students. The curriculum event was a success, the students produced a great interactive workbook focusing on friendship and well-being. Also the individual care packages were well received.
They have all grown in confidence throughout the program, and I am really proud of their commitment, resilience and continuous passion for the ASLUP from start to finish.
Lastly, the students presentation speech were very well received at their graduation evening on the 3rd July, well done everyone!
Ms Powell
To read a speech by Wun Yee Chan (Andrea) and see more photographs click here
'Solutions not Sides' came into our school to continue their work with our Year 9 students - March 2025
Solutions not sides aim to tackle Antisemitism, Islamophobia and polarisation around the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the UK. They have already done some work with Year 9 last academic year. They had two main speakers from Israel and Palestine who met with the students. This was a great opportunity and a key part of our work on equality, diversity and inclusion.
or more information on Solutions not sides, see: Home | SNS (solutionsnotsides.co.uk)
They ran double-lesson workshops with each Year 9 class throughout the day, seeing two year 9 groups at a time. The year 9 students really enjoyed the workshop.
Lunar New Year assembly for Year 7 - February 2025
Ms Pan (MFL) hosted a Lunar New Year assembly for Year 7s on Wednesday 29 January, which happened to be New Year’s Day for many East and South East Asians who celebrate.
She gave an overview of the countries (not just china) that celebrate Lunar New Year festivals, described some of the traditions and customs, and talked about the Zodiac animals.
Finally, the students were able to see that there are many similarities between LNY festivals and the various festivals that are celebrated in other communities (e.g. Christmas, Eid, Diwali, Thanksgiving).
Here is some feedback from students about their favourite part of the assembly:
- I liked when you talked about how different countries celebrate Lunar New Year.
- When I learnt about the different traditions.
- I loved to see how you can make beautiful cursive designs and text on a red paper!
- Seeing the food because it looks so good
- Seeing the pictures of Ms Pan’s family celebrating
- When we saw the imprints of the lucky messages that you hang up on the door
- When Miss Pan showed us the dragon eating lettuce, in the dragon dance
- When we found out what year we were born in
We look forwarding to celebrating Lunar New Year in a bigger way next year.
At Copthall School we are proud to have 10 students from Year 10 who have been selected to be a part of the Alan Sennit Upstanders Leadership Programme. The selected students went through a competitive process.
During the programme the students will attend 4 day long seminars between December and May meeting students from other schools and learning about their backgrounds.
Second Alan Senitt Seminar - Yavneh College
On 21 January the school took the 10 students to Yavnah College. Please see some of our students reflection below:
Wun Y (10L)
We first had a conversation about the importance of inclusivity and diversity where we learnt about each other’s personal journeys and experiences. Then, each school presented their project ideas and received constructive feedback. It was incredibly beneficial for us to receive criticism and learn from each other to improve and progress further in our project. Next, we were given a tour of the school’s synagogue and learnt about prayers and traditions of Judaism. Afterwards, we had a group activity where we came up with unique business ideas and shared them with everyone. We ended the day with a discussion with a team member from the programme about the next steps of our project.
Overall, this was a truly educational and amazing experience for us as we were able to engage in meaningful discussions and learn more about other people and their cultural backgrounds.
We would like to thank Yavneh College for being so welcoming and such great hosts!
Fatima H (10H)
I had a fantastic time at Yavneh School. The students and staff were very welcoming and kind. The Alan Sennit team provided us with valuable advice on our project's future ambitions. I acquired lots of new skills such as public speaking and information. Overall, it was a fantastic experience and a great opportunity for me. Many thanks to Alan Sennit for organising this programme.
East and South East Asian Heritage Month - September 2024
This year, Copthall School celebrated East and South East Asian Heritage Month with a bang.
- It was kicked off with a whole-school assembly on activism, resistance and social change, where Ms Pan explored the history of East and South East Asian activism, and encouraged students to think about how they contribute to social change in their own way.
- Ms Cuaresma and Mr Weldon curated a beautiful library display of ESEA - authored books.
- Ms Man organised an exciting quiz competition about ESEA countries, as well as hosting an incredibly packed karaoke session which heavily featured K-pop.
- Teachers displayed posters of their own East or South East Asian heroes, in their classrooms.
- Finally, Ms Powell and the Catering team hosted three ESEA - themed lunches in the Copteen.
Thank you to all the students and staff who engaged in these activities - we hope you keep exploring and learning about East and South East Asian culture throughout the year through books, documentaries, music, films, exhibitions and more.
C
elebrating Black History Month at Copthall - October 2024
Celebrating Black History Month at Copthall school involved a variety of activities for all years.
The assembly centred around the work of Tavares Strachan. The contemporary artist work ‘The Last Supper’ was showcased in the courtyard of The Royal Academy of Art (RA)
The response from both students and staff has been amazing. “I went home to research the 12 figures from the assembly to find our more information about them. Thank you Ms Powell for making our assembly interesting” Minna 11C
Please refer to the images below for all the activities that took place.
Thank you Mr Weldon and all the Departments who shared their resources. Lastly, thank you to Mr Greenwood, the DT Technician, for designing and cutting the keyrings on the laser-cutter.
Black History Month London Walk - October 2024
On Friday 18 October, a group of students from Years 7-12 participated in a Black History Month walking tour in Central London, this was led by three of our A Level History students (Malaak, Kashmala and Hira) who taught us about key individuals who made a contribution to British society including Olaudah Equiano, William Wilberforce, Ottobah Cugoano and William Cuffay. We were lucky to have excellent weather and were able to enjoy a picnic on the Southbank before ending our tour at the Nelson Mandela statue in Parliament Square.
