“There have been protests against racism in not just America but the UK too. It’s important to remember and reinforce through education that racism is not just an American issue and it is a very prevalent one in the UK.

Through research, I found a UK charity which provides support for people that have suffered hate crimes including racism, homophobia, transphobia and sexism. They employ trained caseworkers to help victims deal with mental trauma. There’s a small minority of black, people of an ethnic background and LGBTQ+ at CCGS and that’s why I believe it’s even more important to ensure students are educated in current problems.

Unfortunately at some point in their lives many students at CCGS will suffer hate crimes whether that be racism, homophobia etc. and it’s important they know such acts aren’t tolerated and that there are places to go for support. I think that as a school it’s important to show solidarity and it opens up the gateways for important conversations that need to happen.

Kent in general is known to have very high hate crime rates. Just between the years 2015-2018 there was a 193% increase.  I understand the majority of students won’t be affected by this but it’s important to highlight that to students instead of allowing ignorance to overtake. This won’t stop anytime soon without proper education and information which I believe this charity can do.”