Throughout the week, pupils from across the College have been recognising diversity in a number of ways, celebrating cultural diversity, neurodiversity and the LGBTQIA+ community with the aim to foster inclusivity and understanding among the Robert Gordon’s community.  

Junior School pupils have been celebrating diversity week through assemblies and engaging and creative activities. Nursery and Junior School had a fantastic time on dress up day, coming to school in their cultural dress clothing. 

Mrs Tulloch, Head of Junior School, said: “Embracing diversity and embedding it into education is like planting seeds of understanding and acceptance that will blossom into a future of kindness where assumptions are challenged and bias is shattered. In this way, we can draw on everyone’s unique strengths and differences - this is how society truly grows.”

Senior pupils have been participating in a range of lunchtime events, from setting up interactive stimulation stalls for neurodiversity, to pupils sharing cultural  traditions including food, dancing and clothing with their younger peers. 

We were delighted to welcome some external guests to the College as part of RGC Diversity Week. We welcomed Jen from the charity Four Pillars, who spoke with pupils about acceptance, education in LGBTQIA+ community, and how we can support others. 

The RGC Interfaith Society were thrilled to welcome members from the Aberdeen Interfaith Group into the Craig Centre for Performing Arts exhibition space. Pupils, staff and members of the Aberdeen Interfaith Group engaged in meaningful conversations, learning more about different faiths and fostering understanding and respect. 

Aurea (S5) shared: “I think that being part of the Diversity Week Committee for the past two years is one of the most important things that I’ve done as a student. Not only have I been part of a wonderful team who would do anything for our school, but I’ve spoken to so many people that I wouldn’t have spoken to before, letting me get a real sense of what it’s like for any student at RGC. 

“The most important thing for me however, is increasing acceptance. As a minority ethnic student, I haven’t always been accepted or treated the same way because of who I am— because even though I was born and raised in Scotland, I’m vividly Bangladeshi. But I love both worlds, and I don’t want to be estranged from either. So what does that mean for someone like me? Acceptance is fickle, especially if you are rejected. That’s why Diversity Week is so important to me— it’s the bridge that I, and many other students, need to feel like we belong. Diversity Week is a deeply personal project of mine, and I hope that it will continue in the years to come until we don’t need it anymore.”

Mr Macpherson, Head of College, highlighted: “Diversity Week has quickly become established as one of the highlights of the school year. We wanted to be more proactive; it’s not enough to simply tolerate diversity, we want to actively celebrate it as a strength of our community. We have incredible diversity within our school community, and we want everyone to feel confident and proud of who they are. The way the pupils have led this initiative, and the incredible levels of engagement that we have seen, show that we are really leading the way on this.”