Heritage Harmonies: A Celebration of Culture and Creativity

On Thursday 9 October, we hosted what has become our annual Heritage Harmonies showcase in celebration of Black History Month — a beautiful evening of culture, creativity and community, inspired by this year’s official theme, “Standing Firm in Power and Pride.”

The audience enjoyed a series of brilliant, heartfelt and thought-provoking performances.

The evening opened with the Year 7 Choir performing The Greatest Love of All by Whitney Houston, featuring soloist Eslie Okyere (Year 10). This was followed by a spectacular fashion show celebrating the art and influence of Black fashion from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Mauritius, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Zimbabwe — including a special staff appearance from Mrs Cooke.

There were also powerful poetry performances, including original pieces written and delivered by students, and a high-energy Afro-Caribbean dance superbly choreographed by Hannah Owolabi (Year 13) and performed by a talented troupe of Year 11 and Year 13 students.

The second half began with a screening of a short film about Afro Hair, produced by Santeça Korsa-Acquah and Tunmi Sodipo (Year 13) for Afro Hair Day in September.

A range of musical performances followed, featuring songs such as Be My Baby by The Ronettes, A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke, Where is the Love? by the Black Eyed Peas, and Man I Need by Olivia Dean. The evening concluded with stunning performances from the Senior Jazz Ensemble, Hockerill Voices, and the College Choir, who closed the show with This Little Light of Mine and Oh Happy Day, featuring soloists Siobhan Ovonlen, Tunmi Sodipo and Stacey M'imea (Year 13).

Our Year 13 MCs — Isaiah Ayodele, Anaya Ejiofor, Hannah Owolabi and Solomon Waritay — expertly guided the evening, providing insightful background to the performances.

Heritage Harmonies is a student-led event, with creative direction and original ideas developed by students. Planning and organisation were led by the Diversity Club, with refreshments provided by the Interact Club. Students demonstrated outstanding talent, leadership and creativity throughout.

The event was celebratory — positive yet poignant — and reflected the International Baccalaureate (IB) philosophy of developing inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through education that fosters intercultural understanding and respect.

Well done to all the students who took part, and a huge thank you to Mrs Appiah, Mrs Osafo, Mrs Morrison, the Music Department, and all staff who contributed to making the evening such a success.

Mrs Johanna Waritay, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Programme Lead