Culture week success for staff and students at Oxfordshire school

With football shirts and traditional dress from around the world, Aureus school celebrated the diversity of staff and students with a Culture Week.

​Last year’s Culture Day proved so successful that it expanded to a week and explored food, music, stories and the diverse backgrounds of many of the staff and families linked to the Didcot school, a member of GLF Schools Multi Academy Trust.

The week was rounded-off with a day of dressing to represent a huge range of heritage - everywhere from the UK and Ukraine to Nigeria and Zimbabwe was on show with football shirts joining national dress as a visual reference to the diversity within the school.

Visitors to Aureus School throughout the week included The Brick People who helped students explore the cultural significance of houses. They also had to follow a brief to build their own using Lego and create stop-motion films to illustrate their work.

“After the huge success of Culture Day last year, we decided to extend the celebration to a whole week and I couldn’t be prouder of our students,” said Headteacher Kirsty Rogers.

“Culture Week has been a wonderful opportunity for our school community to come together, share our diverse backgrounds and heritage and celebrate the rich tapestry of cultures that make our school so special,” she added.

Students were also introduced to The Life of a Chickpea - a project using the legume as a metaphor for understanding individual roles in a diverse community. It promotes British values, including mutual respect and tolerance. 

Last year’s inaugural event was created by a Year 11 student, Angelina and with the help of staff this year expanded it into a full week.

“It has been truly wonderful to explore and celebrate the many cultures that make up our school and our wider community. The conversations, food, music and shared stories have reminded us just how rich and diverse our community really is,” added Ms Rogers.