March 8th was International Women’s Day and all Bethany pupils were reminded about the importance of marking this day as an opportunity to celebrate the political, economic, and social achievements of women; to reflect on current societal expectations and stereotypes of women; and to think about the contributions that we can all make to achieving gender equality.

To mark International Women’s Day, Mrs Hill’s Year 8 English class spent some time last week celebrating the work of Carol Ann Duffy.

Carol Ann Duffy is both a poet and playwright and was the first female poet laureate. She held this position between 2009 and 2019. Many of her poems address issues such as oppression, gender, and violence in accessible language.

After considering connotations of the word ‘valentine’, the class explored a poem entitled ‘Valentine’ in which Carol Ann Duffy challenges us to consider the relevance of an onion as a valentine’s gift rather than a ‘red rose or a satin heart.’ There was some fantastic discussion which demonstrated both excellent creative thinking as well as analytical skill.

The class were then set the challenge of creating their own poem with the same title, deciding for themselves how they wanted to interpret the theme ‘valentine’ and choosing their own extended metaphor to represent this. There were some fabulous submissions; four of which have been selected for you to enjoy.

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In the DLS Department, Year 9 pupils were set the challenge to research a woman who inspired them, explain why they feel inspired by them and list their achievements and contribution to gender equality.

Finn D chose Jacinda Ardern, who was the 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand. She served from 2017 until January 2023. Ardern was the world’s youngest female prime minister at 37 years old and only the second female prime minister to have a child whilst she was in office. She attended many protests in her time running the country, with most of them being successful in their goal. She also dealt with many tragedies whilst in office, the worst being the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019. Finn was impressed by Jacinda’s contributions to gender equality, as she has proven to women around the world that they can also rise to power.

Maisie F chose Alex Scott, a retired professional footballer and now television host and pundit. Scott won 21 major trophies in her career, including one Women’s Champions League medal. Internationally, whilst representing the England Lionesses, Alex Scott won a runners up medal in the 2009 Women’s Euros and managed a 3rd place finish in the 2015 Women’s World Cup. She received 140 international caps for England. Since retiring from playing, Alex was given an MBE for her services to football before releasing her first book named ‘How (Not) To Be Strong’ in September 2022.

Zebedee P chose Emma Watson, best known for her iconic portrayal of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films. Zebedee went on to explain that she is also known for stage and voice acting, as well as her modelling and activism. Watson won the Best Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor for her performance in Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone. She also delivered a speech to the British Nations to launch the new HeForShe initiative, which aims to get men to join the feminist fight for gender equality.

In Geography, pupils were also celebrating International Women’s Day. Pupils started their lessons researching famous female explorers and pioneers, such as Amelia Earheart, the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, and Mae Jemison the first black woman to travel into space.

Year 9 have been studying the continent of Africa this term and 9A decided to find out more about amazing African women in History instead. They collaborated together to produce a great display.