Following International Women’s Day, and after celebrating Mother’s Day recently, the horror that our nation felt upon learning of the abduction, disappearance and murder of Sarah Everard cannot be understated.

The news that a woman, who was walking by a main road during the evening on well-lit streets, could disappear only to be found under a week later in remote Kent woodland in a builder’s bag, discarded like rubbish, is a crime so heinous, so appalling, that many people simply cannot comprehend it.

What can be taken away from this tragedy that isn’t shock at its barbarism and evil, is how the subsequent events have empowered women and men to address issues surrounding the use of language to frame debate. It has once again shed light on how our society is in many ways institutionally sexist, with male chauvinism permeating many facets of our public life and debate. It has enlightened many of us in the way that some elements of society express how women are framed as having bad things done to them, that violence towards women – including rape, murder and kidnapping – is a woman’s problem, theirs to deal with. It never seems to be about how men are the perpetrators.

A TED talk by Jackson Katz summarised it superbly. He said ‘“We talk about how many women were raped last year, not about how many men raped women. We talk about how many girls in a school district were harassed last year, not about how many boys harassed girls. We talk about how many teenage girls in the state of Vermont got pregnant last year, rather than how many men and boys impregnated teenage girls.

“So you can see how the use of the passive voice has a political effect. [It] shifts the focus off of men and boys and onto girls and women. Even the term ‘violence against women’ is problematic. It’s a passive construction; there’s no active agent in the sentence. It’s a bad thing that happens to women, but when you look at that term ‘violence against women,’ nobody is doing it to them. It just happens to them…Men aren’t even a part of it!”

But men are part of it. Men are more than part of it. Collectively, men are the problem and bear the responsibility. No one should be a victim, but more importantly there should not be any perpetrators. And the facts speak for themselves: when it comes to murder, kidnapping and violence, 90% of all murders are committed by men, as are 97% of sexual offences.

We have to talk about this openly in our school and in our community.

The issues are absolutely not about any individual boy in this school or male member of staff. It is definitely not saying or alleging that everyone who is male is a closet kidnapper, rapist or murderer. No. It’s about how society collectively, the society and establishment of which I and every other male member of staff is a member, has by its actions – and more significantly inactions – enabled some men to harm women, not necessarily the harm which Sarah Everard had to endure in her last hours alive, but harm that has far reaching consequences and causes untold emotional damage.

Some of you may think it is not common place? It is another town or country’s problem? Think again. If any of you have read social media the last few days you find post upon post of brave women speaking out about misogyny and sexism, and downright abuse, on a daily basis.

Kate McCann, the political correspondent at Sky, shared her experience: ‘What happened to Sarah Everard has hit home hard for so many women because we make the calculations she did every day too. We take the longer, better-lit route, push the fear aside for the voice that says ‘don’t be daft, you’ve every right to walk home alone at night and be safe. Tell friends ‘it’s fine, it’s just around the corner, I’ll text when I’m back’ …but still we make a plan – Keys gripped between fingers we map the corner shops we could duck into en-route. Swap shoes for trainers in case we need to run. Keep our music low or turned off. Even being on the phone has downsides. One eye is always on the person in front or behind – would they help me, might they be a threat? Should I cross the road, would that make it worse? Are there lights on in any of these houses if I need to pretend this is where I live? You’re a grown woman and in no other area of your life do you feel so vulnerable. You resent it even though you understand there is a risk – however small. It is frustrating and tiring and constant. And yet sometimes, despite all those calculations, it still isn’t enough.’

This fear and trepidation that women in our society live under is not right or sustainable. It cannot be allowed to continue – we have to see change and fast. This behaviour cannot be normalised, and it cannot be accepted.

Off the cuff remarks and comments which are made seemingly in jest or as part of banter in school can be demeaning and do damage. Is it solely a problem for HGS?  No. Most definitely not.

It is happening in every school in every part of the country. Yet many schools would not admit to it. Many schools are not brave enough to do so. We are.

And the only way we’re going to make sure it stops is to confront it, and face this challenge together.

If we allow and accept comments, cat-calling, sexist observations, and don’t shout it out and at the same time shout it down, then sadly, collectively, the males in this school are culpable of propagating a culture that will end up with such behaviour continuing to be the norm, behaviour that has far reaching and – if it reaches its zenith – tragic consequences.  That simply is not good enough.

Let’s start by framing the debate correctly.

The headline is not ‘Drunk girl raped after night out’ but ‘Man rapes women’.

The headline is not ‘33 year old women kidnapped and murdered’ but ‘Man commits murder’.

The headline is not ‘Safety of women needs to be addressed’ but ‘Behaviour of men needs to change’.

Let us use this tragedy as an opportunity for HGS and our community to address this head on.

Let us use this tragedy to collectively change our own narrative.

Let us be a force for good.

Stay well and safe.

Be kind to yourself and each other.

Dr Bird

It has been so good to have all our students back in school again, and for the corridors to resound with their happy chatter. We have been impressed by their ready willingness to comply with additional measures to keep both our own and the wider community safe, and we are desperately keen to keep them all in school until the end of term.

As part of this return and as part of our wider focus on Wellbeing and the importance of good Mental Health is our monthly reference to the Action for Happiness Calendar. This is displayed on our website and the screens around school as well as being referenced in Assemblies and Form time in conjunction with specific activities, which enhance Mindfulness. Examples of this have been our Lockdown Games, our celebration and raising awareness of Children’s Mental Health Week, our assembly on Kooth https://www.kooth.com/ and the Mental Health Spectrum, and our promotion of Walking for Mental and Physical Wellbeing. Students are now also together enjoying PE, Games and aspects of the more practical subjects in which it has been more difficult to participate at home.

Whilst we continue to aspire to academic excellence and a broad and balanced education, it is vital too that we hone the skills and confidence of our staff in their support of students’ mental health and wellbeing. Staff have received an introduction to Wellbeing and Mental Health Awareness as well as updates as part of our annual CPD programme and our Wellbeing Action Plan. A number of staff have undergone Mental First Aid training, Anxiety support training and Bereavement and Loss training. We are also looking at other CPD and training courses for next academic year through BEP (Birmingham Education Partnership) and via SSS Safeguarding, Training and Assessment.

I would also draw your attention to the ten keys for happier living. This links into our educational philosophy of BLH (Building Learning Habits):

GREAT DREAM – Giving, Relating, Exercise, Awareness, Trying out, Direction, Resilience, Emotions, Acceptance, Meaning.

Please also check out our website at: https://www.handsworth.bham.sch.uk/about-the-school/wellbeing/

All of this reflects our wholehearted and proactive commitment to developing our students as well-rounded human beings – healthy in mind, body and soul – and to supporting and equipping them and their families for life’s challenges. Having a healthy mind is just as important as a healthy body.

Stay well and safe.

Be kind to yourself and each other.

Dr Bird

In January, Nepalese climber, Nirmal Purja accomplished one of the most coveted achievements in mountaineering – the first winter ascent of K2, the world’s second highest mountain. It is the only one of the 8000s, that is, the 14 mountains in the world over 8000m that has never been climbed in winter. There is good reason, for at 8611m, it is only marginally lower than Mt Everest, but is far more technical, and far more unpredictable in terms of extreme weather.

Near the summit, it is not uncommon for the air temperature to reach – 65⁰C, and winds of hurricane force. Above 8000m climbers enter the death zone, so called because there is so little oxygen in the air that the human body is in a state of continuous deterioration, and where you can only survive for a limited amount of time. There have been six previous attempts to climb K2 in winter, all of which failed, and many considered it an impossible challenge.

Unbelievably, Nirmal is not the most experienced mountaineer, having only started climbing at the age of 29. He grew up in western Nepal, one of the world’s poorest countries. He often had no shoes and his family would sometimes walk to a neighbour’s house at the weekend so they could share their television.

His early dream was simple, to join the Gurkha Regiment of the British Army. Every year 28,000 Nepalese men apply for 200 places in this highly respected regiment. Nirmal succeeded in his goal, and after six years, he became the first Gurkha soldier in more than 200 years to pass selection for the elite, Special Boat Service, or SBS.

It was with the SBS that he took up mountaineering and in 2016 he climbed Mt Everest. He repeated his ascent in 2017, before attempting the record for the fastest ascent of all the world’s fourteen 8000m peaks. He called the endeavour ‘Project Possible.’

The record stood at seven years and 10 months. The height gain is equivalent to climbing vertically from sea level to the edge of space. No one believed this was possible and he was even mocked by many seasoned mountaineers. But on the 29th October 2019, he reached the final summit, in a remote region of Tibet, having climbed all the 8000s in an incredible 6 months and 1 week!

At first glance Nirmal’s astonishing achievement seems a solo effort, a phenomenal feat accomplished alone. But it is not, and it required a big team effort. In January, he entered the record books becoming the first person to summit K2 in winter. Upon reaching the summit alongside his fellow climbers, they sang the Nepalese national anthem, and in a statement said: “What a journey I am humbled to say that as a team we have summited the magnificent K2 in extreme winter conditions – we have shown that collaboration, teamwork and a positive mental attitude can push limits to what we feel might be possible.”

So, what are the qualities of a mountaineer and what can we learn from them and apply to our daily lives?

Humility is a quality that stands out in the Sherpa community, and was evident in some of the early mountaineers.

Sir Edmund Hillary, who along with Tenzing Norgay became the first people to reach the summit of Mt Everest on the 29th May 1953, held the Sherpa in high regard. Without the Sherpa, Hillary and Tenzing would not have reached the summit. But, Hillary, Tenzing, and expedition leader, John Hunt embodied humility.

 “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” (Hillary)

 “You cannot be a good mountaineer, however great your ability, unless you are cheerful, and have the spirit of comradeship. Teamwork is key to success, and selfishness only makes a man small.” (Tenzing)

The first British climbers to summit Everest were Doug Scott and Dougal Haston. In the 1975 expedition led by Sir Chris Bonnington, one of Britain’s most successful mountaineers, Scott and Haston followed the much more challenging and previously unclimbed south west face.

Forced to camp the night in a snow hole just below the summit at 8750m, a feat that no climber had ever previously survived, they demonstrated huge resilience when faced with adversity. Scott and Haston’s success, was founded on strong teamwork and the humble approach of the supporting Sherpa. With no mobile or satellite phones, the climbers were cut-off from the outside world. Success relied on the climbers working together, facing uncertainty together, but above all, caring for each other. The Sherpa also recognise that being co-operative rather than competitive is a preferable state for survival in a hostile mountain environment. For Scott, being the first to summit a mountain was not important. What mattered, was the how. He relished the journey, prioritising curiosity, personal responsibility and a willingness to embrace uncertainty.

 John Hunt was asked whether climbing Mt Everest was worth it, and he replied:

“Ultimately, the justification for climbing Everest, if any justification is needed, will lie in the seeking of their Everest’s by others stimulated by this event as we were inspired by others before us.”

As we continue to face the uncertainties in this pandemic, we can look out for each other. We can display humility, resilience, strong teamwork, and we can care for each other. We have the ability to seek out our own Everest’s and conquer them together as a community. A strong community that we are – each and every one of us being an important part of it.

Haec Olim Meminisse Iuvabit

Stay well and safe.

Be kind to yourself and each other.

Dr Bird

Please see the following open letter from Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to parents, carers and guardians:

An open letter from Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to parents, carers and guardians – Education in the media (blog.gov.uk)