A SHAFTESBURY school has pledged to listen to the opinions of the community and inspect the current curriculum and policies, after pupils sent out letters calling for more black history to be taught.

School students, past and present, from across Salisbury, the New Forest and Shaftesbury, are now urging their teachers to transform the ways in which they educate and engage with pupils, in a bid to tackle racial inequalities still embedded in society today.

Following the death of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, St Mary’s Shaftesbury, South Wilts Grammar School, Godolphin and Burgate School and Sixth Form centre are just some of the schools which have been sent letters appealing for change from their present and alumni students.

During lockdown students have been using letters as communication to express their concerns and appeal for their schools to make a change.

Suggestions have been made including updating the curriculum, celebrating all cultures, and increasing internal conversations between staff and students.

Schools have now started acknowledging and responding to letters and are taking action, including St Mary’s Shaftesbury.

St Mary’s headmistress Maria Young told the Journal: “Over the last week I have responded to letters from various groups of alumnae - as all heads will have done - and as a school we are looking very carefully at the points they raise for our consideration.

“There is always more to be done, and our whole community will be working together to ensure that lessons learned from the BLM protests are not forgotten.”

In the public statement from the school, it said that “challenging inequality and prejudice lies at the heart of [the] ethos at St Mary’s”, later adding “there is more yet to do”.

It said: “We are committed to anti-racist values and these are enshrined in our policies.

“Such a commitment is made in a spirit of humility, however, and we fully acknowledge that there is more yet to do in order to support and promote the wellbeing of our Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students and staff, and to play our part in educating all students to be proactive and compassionate in eradicating discrimination and building a fairer world.

"In the immediate future we will be listening to the opinions of our whole community, auditing our curriculum and policies, and working to ensure that practical steps are taken to address and eradicate racial discrimination or bias wherever they may be found to occur.”

In addition to this, the school is launching a Global Citizenship programme for the Sixth Form from September with these issues at the forefront, and a working party is currently being established.

The statement added: “In undertaking this very necessary piece of work, conversations and decisions will involve representatives from across our community: pupils, teaching staff, support staff and the leadership team.

“We can only succeed in moving forward if we involve everyone and we are unafraid to take robust actions to ensure that St Mary’s does so.”

One alumni student, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “With everything going on in the world right now, we need to remember the UK is not innocent.

"We really enjoy our school life but know more can be done.”