Visiting Schools

Young LGBT+ people face significant challenges compared to their peers - including higher rates of bullying, alienation from families, increased risk of homelessness and obstacles accessing healthcare such as puberty blockers. The Just Like Us charity found that LGBT+ youth are twice as likely to encounter depression, anxiety, and panic attacks compared to non-LGBT+ youth, and yet are often underrepresented in discussions about LGBT+ experience.

So we were delighted to be able to visit three schools - The Deaf Academy in Exmouth, Kings School in Ottery, and Exeter College - to talk to students about their experiences.

We met with headmaster Sylvan Dewing to discuss the unique challenges young LGBT+ students with disabilities can face and also how we might include them in Exeter Pride 2023. I tried to recall my rusty sign language skills enough to talk to the students and staff about the heritage project, and their experiences of attending prides in the past. Many had attended Exmouth Pride, where they helped teach BSL words and phrases to non sign language users, and performed songs in sign language on the stage. We hope to be able to incorporate from of these ideas in Exeter Pride 2023.

My visit to Kings School left a lasting impression - not only due to the confidence and openness of the LGBT+ youth I met, but also by the school's evident commitment to inclusivity. There was a poster in the hall outlining how students can support queer peers, prominent pride rainbow flags, and even a planned mini pride march! Due to being under 16, we were unable to include them as interviewees, nevertheless, but we encouraged them to express their thoughts and experiences of pride through their writing and art which we’ve included in this post and also here.

Examples of artwork of students describing what pride means to them.

Posters advertising how to be a good ally for LGBTQ+ students

We also visited media students from the LGBT+ society at Exeter college to talk to them about how they might be able to use their skills to help with filming and photography.

For someone who grew up in school under section 28, it gave me such hope to see young people forming LGBT+ societies, being comfortable being out in their schools, and for their schools and teachers to be able to offer open to support to them to the extent of helping them organise their own prides!

However, I am equally aware of the challenges that young queer people still face, especially those who are trans and non-binary, and there is a long way to go before they experience true equality with their non LGBT+ peers.