We celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee before half term at both Junior and Senior School. There were competitions, a history lecture in assembly and a full-scale street party at Junior School.

The assembly led by Head of History, Susan Cross, encouraged reflections on the past and thoughts of the future inspired by the new Elizabethans’ project on Radio 4. Who would be the new Elizabethans? Who will history remember from our times and why? Who will be the Shakespeare of today or the Sir Walter Raleigh? And who will make changes to our lives in the future but be forgotten by history?

Girls were astounded by the lack of phones in 1952; by the fact that Barbara Castle, who drove the Equal Pay Act in 1970 did not make the new Elizabethans’ list and by how much things cost, even by today’s standards.  They saw all the changes and improvements in our lives today and thought about those, remembered and forgotten, individuals who had made a difference to our lives.

You can follow the debate by clicking on the link below. Senior School students can access the assembly slideshow on the history pages in SydSpace.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/the-new-elizabethans/

The gallery below shows the entries featured in this month’s Inter Schools Advertiser Jubilee competition cover from years 7, 8 and 9. No overall winner was declared but most of these works featured prominently!