Photo - Citizenship Team

On Thursday 21st November, our Lower Sixth Citizenship Team hosted a Year 9 assembly and breakout room sessions at Bedford School. This was the second session of this initiative, which provides an important platform for students from both schools to collaborate, discuss, and take action on significant social issues affecting young people today.

Nawaal Qazi (Lower Sixth) reflected: “The Year 9 Citizenship morning, focused on online sexual harassment, was a highly impactful and thought-provoking event that left a lasting impression. The session began with an informative assembly that outlined the topic of online sexual harassment, emphasising its significance in today’s digital world and the importance of raising awareness about the issue. The assembly highlighted not only the dangers associated with online harassment but also the responsibilities of individuals to protect and respect one another in digital spaces.

“Following the assembly, the Year 9 students were split into breakout sessions, with Lower Sixth students from both the Bedford School and BGS leading the discussions – including myself. In these sessions, different real-life scenarios of online sexual harassment were presented to the students. They were designed to help the Year 9s conceptualise the issue by relating it to situations they could encounter or might already be aware of, framing it in a different light for them. The Lower Sixth students guided them in understanding how these incidents unfold online, the potential emotional and psychological impacts, the complexity of them, how to recognise the signs of harassment, and how to appropriately handle them.

“Overall, the morning was a success and provided the students with essential knowledge and practical tools to navigate online spaces responsibly and respectfully.”