This morning we had the privilege of observing a lesson at the very special Wetherby Prep School in Marylebone. We were invited into the classroom while the year 8 boys got settled. They were full of energy, dressed in slightly muddy rugby gear, having come straight from the playing fields and carrying trays of flapjacks – great fuel for the lesson they were about to take!

Today’s session was focused around Celebrating Diversity. The wonderful teacher, Emily Trevitt (Head of English) began with a short video called “What happens when we unbox each other”. If you haven’t seen it, take a look! The advert shows that, rather than focusing on the things that separate people from each other, we should look for the meaningful connections that tie us together. The video sparked such interesting and thought-provoking discussion that we have added the video to our lesson plan going forward, so thank you Mrs. Trevitt!

Next, the boys read two stories from Being ManKind. The first story is written by a man who experiences verbal abuse for dressing as a woman and the second story is told by a man who comes from a tightly knit Indian community and describes his experience of coming out as gay to his family. The class became very animated while they discussed the stories, including what they understood by the term LGBT and the use of homophobic language such as “you’re so gay” and “that’s so gay”. Some of the boys admitted to having heard and even used these phrases. Mrs. Trevitt allowed the boys to challenge each other while discussing the effect these words might have. It was reassuring to see that, after a very lively debate, the boys all agreed that the terms are offensive and said they would be more aware of and challenge homophobic language in the future.

Wetherby Prep is a wonderful school which nurtures happy, tolerant and respectful young men. I came away picturing these brilliant boys becoming the next generation of politicians, scientists and lawyers. But then I realised that I, too, was placing them in a box! These boys have the drive and ability to do well in whichever career they choose to follow, whatever that may be. One thing is certain, these kind and confident boys will grow to become kind and confident men.

Jenny x