Salford City College proudly celebrates LGBT History Month

Staff and students at Salford City College have been proudly celebrating and showing their support for LGBT+ in the month of February.

The rainbow flag representing LGBT+ social movements has been flying across all five centres, displays around college were filled with LGBT+ literature and motivational posters, and resources were made available for staff to incorporate within their lessons.

Sport students wore rainbow laces in their football boots in order to join the national campaign of anti-homophobia in sport. Curriculum Manager Steve Settle said, “The students ordered the laces to show allegiance to their fellow peers and the wider LGBT+ community. The amazing thing about sport is that it is for everyone, and should be inclusive and diverse so it’s crucial that everybody feels welcome”.

On Friday 16 February it was ‘Rainbow Clothes Day’ for students who wore a colourful mix of clothing. The money raised was donated to Stonewall who campaign for the equality of lesbians, bi, gay and trans people.

As part of the LGBT+ themed Film Club, students from maths and IT were invited to a lunch time showing of the ‘Imitation Game’ which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as a real-life British cryptanalyst Alan Turing, who decrypted German intelligence codes for the British government during World War II and was criminalised for being homosexual.

The Glass House Restaurant incorporated the theme into their decorations and table settings as part of their Afternoon Tea event on Friday 17 February.

Students at the Walkden Centre baked cakes for sale with profits going to the Proud Trust, a free confidential support network for young people of the LGBT+ community. Merry Macdonald, an ambassador for Proud Trust came along to the cake sale and information session and brought along leaflets which young people could take away. She said, “Thank you to all the students today who took time to bake in order to support and celebrate LGBT+ month, your donations are very important”. You can visit the Proud Trust website HERE.

The Human Resources department have provided additional training for staff on Gender Variance which is run by Equality and Diversity UK and aims to raise awareness of the needs of the trans community and the support that we can offer students and staff.  In addition, sessions on Hate Crime are running during the remainder of the academic year.

CEO & Principal, John Spindler said, “It is amazing to see how many of our LGBT+ activities for our students are led by our students. We want everyone to know that Salford City College is a safe and welcoming place and our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusivity further supports this”.