Imagine if we were all the same, we all looked exactly the same, had the same opinions on everything and never disagreed with anyone in the slightest... there would be:

• No-one to share a different perspective when you have a problem
• No-one to suggest a brilliant plan you hadn’t thought of
• No-one to teach you something new about life
• No-one to share tales of their own experiences, of things you couldn’t imagine seeing or doing yourself
• No-one to enthuse you about their own passion, something you’d never seen the joy in before

For me, this would make for a very dull world; and I’ve always counted myself lucky at this school that we have such a rich and interesting variety of people and perspectives all around us.

We may have similarities to one another, but we are all our own people with our own experiences and our own perspectives. From Year 7 to Year 13, from staff to visitors, we learn from each other, we can bring joy to the lives of those around us and we can also challenge one another to be better- both in our academic work and our lives outside of the classroom.

The fact that Didcot Girls’ School is a diverse and interesting place to be, is one of the things I love most about my job. We are fortunate to have, within the school and the Trust, a community that is welcoming to everyone and we should never stop championing this.

We should celebrate our differences and work together to continue to make our community the best place it can be– for all of us. As this term, with its diversity focus, comes to a close, let’s continue to keep it in mind. Let’s not forget all we’ve learnt about the importance of diversity in our own community and keep our understanding and awareness of others at the core of all we do.