During the recent protests around statues as part of the Black Lives Matter movement and the death of George Floyd, 9R took the opportunity to explore the importance of statues as part of their work on non-fiction texts. After learning more about Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher (who won the 'Hidden Heroines' bid to be celebrated with a statue in Cardiff), each student chose a figure whom they believed we should have a statue to honour. There was an enormous range of people to be celebrated such as Nelson Mandela, Florence Nightingale, William Wilberforce and Shirley Bassey, with plenty of in-depth research taking place. Students also thought more carefully about the online sources that they were using and the reliability of websites and articles they might read too.
Melinda chose Nelson Mandela and when thinking about where the statue should be, she wrote: "The statue of Nelson Mandela should be where it all began and where it all ended. Everyone should be reminded that we can also make a big change in the world like Nelson Mandela did, because justice will always come."
Mehak wrote an incredible five page article on George Floyd, the first page of which can be read here.
Michelle wrote a compelling article on Malala, and Edie presented an eloquent and convincing case for Suzanne Spaak.