Anti-Homophobia Week reaches colourful finale at Stockport Academy

Chris Prince / 15 May 2015 / Categories: News

Stockport Academy’s Anti-Homophobia Week has seen a range of activities taking place throughout the school, but it could be argued that the best was saved until the very end.

After holding bake sales and showcasing dance performances every break time, with the proceeds all going to charity, students also heard from the Albert Kennedy Trust about the work they do with mentoring and supporting young LGBT people.

Some of the Academy’s drama students also received high praise from the Gay Times after posting a film they made called ‘Everybody’s Disapproval’, which highlighted the issues around homophobia and why they need to be tackled.

On Friday, the school held a non-uniform day with students invited to donate some money in return for wearing a specific colour designated to their year, so the whole school would be dressed in a rainbow of colours for the whole day.

In the afternoon, students released multi-coloured ballons, each with an anti-homphobic message inside that also encouraged anyone who found them to get in touch with the school via its Twitter page.

The grand finale saw an Academy ‘colour run’, where staff and students participated in a race that involved the audience throwing pots of coloured paint at them as they ran around the track!

Year 9 and 10 Pastoral Manager Mrs Nicholls, who organised the week, said: "Anti-Homophobia Week was a huge success; not only was it so much fun to be involved in, but it also effectively got across a very important message.

“Our students are incredibly engaged on this issue and I’ve been very impressed with their level of enthusiasm for spreading the word that homophobia has no place in the community.”