LGBTQ+ History Month

LGBTQ+ History Month offered the opportunity for BRGS to recognise a vibrant, exciting, informative and celebratory month to educate out prejudice and make LGBTQ+ visible in all their rich diversity.

Students led our main school assembly in which they focused on a timeline of key moments in LGBTQ+ modern history focusing on aspects such as The Sexual Offences Act of 1967 which allowed homosexual activities between two men as long as they were consensual, private and between men over the age of 21.  The 1969 Stonewall Riots were then seen by many as the catalyst for gay rights movements around the world. 

Next in the timeline was 1988 when Section 28 made it illegal to 'promote homosexuality' within schools and it was not until 1992 that the World Health Organisation declassified homosexuality as a mental illness and advice to give people therapy or treatments to convert sexual orientation ended.  The first country to legalise gay marriage was the Netherlands on 1st April 2001, where four same-sex couples were married at the stroke of midnight.  Shortly after, in 2002, same-sex couples were legally allowed to adopt children in England and Wales and in 2003, Section 28 was finally removed from schools.  It took until 2013 for gay marriage to become legal in the UK.

The assembly focused on high profile LGBTQ+ individuals and celebrated their achievements such as that of Dr Sally Ride who saw an advert from NASA looking for scientists and engineers to train as astronauts.  Sally applied and was selected for the space programme from 8000 other applicants.  In 1983 she became the first American woman to go into space and she and her partner, tennis player Tam O'Shaughnessy, wrote about books about space together.  She inspired countless young girls to get involved in science and created a foundation called Sally Ride Science to encourage the promotion of science and engineering. 

Other individuals celebrated in the assembly were Oscar Wilde, Martine Rothblatt, Jame Baldwin and Marsha P Johnson to name just a few.

Students requiring support were advised of drop-in sessions being held at BRGS throughout February by the Child & Family Well-Being Service and students were encouraged to continue celebrating diversity through forthcoming events:  Womens' History Month in March, Pride Month in June and Black History Month in October.