“We celebrate LGBT+ History Month in school because everyone needs a safe space. We like to make our school as welcoming and accepting as possible because it gives students the freedom to be who they are, which isn’t always possible at home.
“LGBT+ History Month celebrates our accomplishments, allows us to celebrate our identities in public, sets examples for other countries that aren’t welcoming of LGBT+ people, and reminds us that we still have a long way to go in order to obtain complete social justice.
“We recently won the Stonewall School Champion Gold award for our work, and we are incredibly proud that Woodside is the only secondary school in London to hold the award. We even had Sir Ian McKellen visit us because of it! It was a real honour talking to him about the work he has done as a campaigner and one of the founders of Stonewall. He was inspiring and gave us a lot to think about.
“It’s so important to show support to others – you just have to be human with a good heart. The world would be a lot better if we just made an effort to be less horrible to each other. We all want to be cared for and recognised for who we are.