Loreto College is a Catholic Sixth Form College established to serve the needs of 16-19 year old Catholic students in the surrounding areas. The College accesses a number of 16-19 year old students of other faiths and non-faiths who are sympathetic to the Catholic ethos. The College serves the needs of students with learning differences and disabilities and provides open access to appropriate programmes and courses. Upon entry to the College all students have equality of opportunity.
The College will ensure that the curriculum and teaching delivery will be planned to maintain equality of opportunity for all students and that all materials used will be free from any discriminatory assumptions, images, language and stereotyping.
Within the tutorial programme, students will be provided with information about the full Equal Opportunities Policy and their role and rights as a Loreto student.
The College will ensure that there are no barriers which might inhibit any student from lodging an appeal against any alleged contravention of the Policy.
Please click here to read the current Single Equality Scheme or study the college’s Equality Objectives.
Respect Week
Loreto College is a diverse and vibrant community, to reflect and celebrate this, each year we hold a Respect Week. Respect Week 2022 focused on Interfaith dialogue, the importance of learning about other faiths and engaging with them in a positive and respectful way. Interfaith week was held between the 25th-29th in college encompassing a number of events.
Due to the dates coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan, we held our first Iftar on Wednesday the 27th of April, organised by Mrs Kambouris with the support of the Equality Group. Iftar Dua was led by some of our Muslim students all attendees shared meal. The event highlighted the incredible generosity and community spirit of our students and staff, with all food and drink being donated by the attendees and their families. Almost 100 students attended the event which was a huge success, (with one student stating she would remember the night forever!) and one we look forward to repeating in 2023.
Throughout Interfaith week we also welcomed a number of guest speakers including Natasha March who shared her expertise on Black fishing and cultural appropriation, the Muslim Chaplains from Manchester Metropolitan University who focused on the history of the Muslim community in Manchester, and Adie Mormech who discussed Cultrual Appropriation from a Palestinian perspective. Our staff and students were grateful to learn from such experts in their fields.
Interfaith week was rounded off by our Cultural Appreciation Day which had a truly immense response from our students. Our students were encouraged to celebrate their culture through wearing their traditional dress to college and with music of their choice, speeches and dancing in Ball theatre at lunchtime. It was a joyful, celebratory atmosphere throughout the day and the theatre was full for the lunchtime show. We had representations from many countries from Colombia to Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Sudan, China, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Kurdistan, Iraq, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Bosnia, Kosovo and many more.
Pride at Loreto
In June 2022 we celebrated Pride month with our students and staff and focused on the theme of “Representation”. There are many wonderful people who are part of the LGBTQ+ community, ranging from iconic celebrities to our peers and friends here at Loreto, and we hoped to celebrate all that is wonderful about them.
Our students and staff participated in a poster competition to celebrate their LGBTQ+ hero – by researching a member of the LGBTQ+ community who inspires them and creating a poster celebrating them and their achievements. The posters have been printed and shared around the college with staff from the Equality group choosing a winner in time for our return to college in the Autumn.
We held screenings of “Heartstopper” and “Pride” to celebrate the steps forward in positive representation for the LGBTQ+ community in mainstream TV and Film. Finally, following the success of our Cultural Appreciation day, we asked students and staff to “Dress in the Rainbow” on Friday 1st July, and join each other at break to celebrate the representation of our LGBTQ+ community in college and support as allies. Once again, our students showed up with commitment and creativity for a celebration with their peers and staff.
Looking Forward
All our EDI events in 2022 have been a joy and a success and we look forward to growing our Equality Group throughout the next academic year and continuing to support and celebrate all of the students in our exceptional community here at Loreto. We are currently planning for future events including those to celebrate Black History Month, International Men’s Day, International Women’s Day and Neurodiversity Celebration Week. If you wish to support any of these events or are interested in joining the Equality Group here at Loreto please contact Mrs Brodrick-Mills on hmills@loreto.ac.uk