The Project aims to widen the curriculum across the Senior School and Sixth Form by encouraging students to research new narratives and to work with teachers to implement them in the classroom, where appropriate.

Maths Teacher and Diversity and Inclusion Lead, Mr Matthew Bull commented: “It has been really exciting to launch the new Perspectives Project across the school this year.

The first step for students involves researching into a subject area from the perspective of any cultural or indigenous community. For instance, about the impacts of colonialism on a certain region, culture or community; how sciences have evolved from ancient civilisations and indigenous wisdom; about BAME, POC and LGBTQ+ figures and their work in historical discoveries and inventions. These are just some ideas, but students can do anything – something more personal, which means more to them, or something they would like to learn more about.

For instance, some students are thinking about how we can work indigenous wisdom into the chemistry curriculum because of what they did for medicine through alchemy. Other students have been looking at what North American communities did, what the Japanese have contributed, and what the Middle Eastern influences are.”

The outgoing Head Girl, Year 13 student Shadan Danesh, along with outgoing member of the Head Girl Deputy Team, Kajol Aryal, are both involved in the project.

Shadan commented: “I believe this project is important as so many stories and contributions in history outside the Western World have gone unnoticed and unmentioned, and it’s crucial to challenge this to ensure that we are educated about the different perspectives held in the world, as history holds great meaning and knowledge, with one country’s being just as important as another. Being interested in careers in medicine, Kajol and I have researched into the way the practice has developed through countries across different areas of the world, from the theory to surgical procedures, and are looking at ways to insert some of this into the current curriculum at school. I hope that this project will spark people’s interest in researching into the fields that they are interested in by looking at it from different perspectives, not just the ones that they are taught at the moment at school, and to help them to realise the significance of learning about other cultures’ outlooks and experiences with particular topics.”

Kajol added: “I believe the Perspectives Project is important because we hope that it will promote diversification of the curricula, bringing more awareness about and representation of different peoples and cultures. As part of the project Shadan and I looked into health systems across different cultures. I also looked into inequalities that affect people’s health, for instance the links between systemic racism and the effects it has on stress, cardiovascular diseases and inflammation, and the environmental and societal factors that impact the health of indigenous peoples. I hope that this will bring more awareness about healthcare in a holistic way and about other culture’s medicinal systems. I’m also hoping similar initiatives will continue after we leave, such as understanding more about social injustice and including more representation of other peoples and cultures in the curricula.”

Year 11 student, Anusha Upadhyay, also answered our questions about the project:

“I think it’s vital to provide views of the world through different lenses so our minds aren’t limited to experiences only of our own. The more we are exposed to things that are new to us, or perhaps aren’t but that are presented from an unfamiliar viewpoint, the more our emotional intelligence builds as we feel empathy regardless of whether the ground is common or not.”

“I’m taking part in the project by researching the impact of the India-Pakistan partition, the aftereffects of independence from British rule and how it changed both countries forever. Independence was a joyous occasion for all, but perhaps it was overshadowed by the great sorrows of partition. This left a lasting impression on the people on both sides of the border, and many believe that partition should never have happened given the amount of blood shed and pain endured despite there being no war fought.”

“I hope this can help to grasp the severity of colonialism’s effect on countries, even when officially ‘gone’. Learning of the struggles of people before us can keep from making those same mistakes again, and I hope my work can help provide a much needed look at an often overlooked aspect of the global effects of the British Empire.”

Miss Alison Sefton, Head of Norwich High School for Girls said: “I am always encouraged by how passionate and innovative our students are and the Perspectives Project is another great example of this. The students spotted an opportunity to build on what we do in school with this fantastic idea, and I am encouraged by how this has been positively received by the staff. It is great to see the students leading this, and working with Subject Heads to think about how the new narrative can be delivered in classrooms. I look forward to seeing how this develops.”