Excellence events

Excellence Events Professor Nicola Rollock: The Racial Code

On Thursday 24th November, in a packed Boyd Campbell Hall, we were honoured to welcome Professor Nicola Rollock, Professor of Social Policy and race at King’s College London and author of ‘The Racial Code: Tales of resistance and survival’.

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rofessor Rollock was ‘in conversation’ with Krish (U6JCC) and Rafi (U6NGA), both Upper Sixth students, discussing key issues around racism. The talk was followed by a Q&A session, where pupils and parents were given the opportunity to ask questions to Professor Nicola Rollock.

Looking at whether organisations promote diversity, Professor Rollock explained the key difference between positive discrimination and positive action. The former is when employers specifically hire a candidate due to their race, however, this is unlawful. The latter is when researchers explore fields with under-represented minority groups. She argues that positive action is vital to promote diversity in the workplace such as through scholarships, and the long-term goal should be equality of opportunity.

Professor Rollock went on to discuss her book, which highlights the forms of racism she has encountered throughout her life. She explained that by being only one of 40 black professors has meant she has had to work twice as hard compared to her colleagues and her work has often been overlooked.

The event concluded on a poignant message: we need to discuss racism in a mature manner, and this will move us a step closer to equality. We would like to thank Professor Rollock for a thought-provoking talk. n

BBC’s Mishal Husain

As part of our Excellence Programme, we welcomed BBC news journalist and presenter Mishal Husain to the school in October.

Mishal has recently written ‘The Skills’, a book about how to succeed in the workplace, and she spoke to Year 11 and

Lower Sixth pupils on the same theme.

It was a real privilege to hear from Mishal about her first-hand experiences. Her guidance on how to succeed in life beyond school and university was extremely valuable for everyone present. n