College News

QE staff & students show support for LGBT+ history month

Every year, staff and students at QE are honoured to celebrate LGBT+ History Month and 2021 is no exception. This February, the College has continued its work towards the completion of The Rainbow Flag Award, a programme which focuses on positive LGBT+ inclusion and visibility in schools and colleges. For the award, there are six areas to complete and students have just achieved the student voice section with their evidence being shown to others as good practice and the group receiving universal praise from assessors. February has also seen QE’s LGBT+ group, part of the Student Association, use Instagram to raise awareness of milestones in the history of the LGBT+ community with informative posts and images. Meanwhile, virtual staff training has taken place based on LGBT+ bias and staff now wear rainbow lanyards, showing their support for the LGBT+ community.

Reflecting on an inspiring month of activities, student, Dylan Paterson, comments: ‘LGBT+ History Month is important to me because it allows us to remember the past and prevents us from making the same mistakes again. Before the Student Association’s campaign, I knew very little about the history of the LGBT+ community which highlights the need for increased awareness’. Rebecca Thornley, lead member of the College’s LGBT+ group, adds: ‘LGBT+ History Month shows how much we have fought for our rights, however it also demonstrates that there is still a long way to go for everybody to be treated equally. This celebration helps people who are still finding out who they are and shows them that they are not alone and there are others experiencing the same feelings’. Nancy Wall, Student Services Co-ordinator at QE, concludes: ‘The students have done incredibly well to carry out LGBT+ History Month during lockdown, providing training for staff in addition to educational information via their Instagram account. I am very proud of their work and look forward to hearing their ideas for Pride Month in June’.Pictured in the image are lead member of the College’s LGBT+ group, Rebecca Thornley, and Dylan Paterson.