From a Teacher
It was the first time that the College had done any work specifically with its BAME students. I was impressed by the way that the facilitators from Devon Development Education worked with the group. They had a range of activities that developed students confidence, made them reflect and take pride in their cultural heritage and open up about their experiences of racism in the College and in the local community.
The sharing of ideas and strategies in dealing with racism undoubtedly helped some students. It is noticeable that BME students who had been involved in the group gained in confidence and were leading lights in their year group in Years 10 and 11.
From two Pupils
We found the experience of the YCC programme both useful and interesting.
It was good for the group because it brought us together and made us realise that we had a shared experience in the college. Exploring each other’s cultural heritage meant that as individuals we took more pride in the cultures we have.
It also meant that we were able to talk about our shared experience of the racism we have endured in the College. Being able to talk about the racism in College and discuss ways to deal with it was useful. There had never been an opportunity for this to happen previously. Explaining to our headteacher some of the abuse we have faced showed that the school was taking seriously our experiences.
Overall we enjoyed the YCC programme. We would like to see it repeated again at our school and elsewhere.