Students empowered by Windrush lecture

Worth was honoured to have two Windrush survivors deliver an empowering lecture to students last Friday about how they came to the United Kingdom and the impact their move from the Caribbean had on their lives.

It is 75 years since the HMT Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury, Essex, carrying passengers from the Caribbean to the UK. Several hundred passengers were Jamaican, but others arrived from islands including Trinidad, St Lucia, Grenada and Barbados.

These travellers – and those on other ships which came to the UK until 1971 – became known as the Windrush generation. Many had served in the British armed forces in World War Two.

As part of our PSHE programme, the School marked Black History Month by welcoming two people of the Windrush generation, together with Alexander McLean, to talk to students about their experiences.

Having trained as a barrister and magistrate, Mr McLean went on to found Justice Defenders. As well as being a Senior TED Fellow, Ashoka Fellow and UK Young Philanthropist of the Year, he has appeared in TIME Magazine’s 30 Under 30 Changing the World and ‘The Power List’, featuring Britain’s most influential people of African and African-Caribbean heritage.

Students took a lot from the talk which gave them a deeper understanding of the Windrush generation. All year groups are currently learning more about Black History Month as part of our PSHE programme. Topics covered include Figures in Black History, Transatlantic Slave Trade, Modern Day Slavery and The Civil Rights Movement.

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