On Monday 5th February, we were delighted to welcome representatives from the charity ‘Solutions not sides’ into our College to deliver an educational workshop as part of students’ Personal Development. 

Our Year 9 students, and those studying Government and Politics in Year 12 and 13, had the invaluable opportunity of taking part in the programme which explores the Israel-Palestine conflict. The organisation came highly recommended, and their aim is to “tackle Antisemitism, Islamophobia and polarisation around the issue of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the UK”. The non-partisan programme has been formulated with the input of both Israelis and Palestinians, as well as senior members of Jewish and Muslim communities. It is designed to prepare students to make a positive, solutions-focused contribution to debates on Israel-Palestine and develop empathy, critical thinking and conflict resolution skills . We had the privilege of hearing from speakers Barak and Hamzah, who shared some of their own personal stories and experiences, alongside the opportunity for students to ask questions and grow their understanding about this complex topic.

We received excellent feedback from our students, and our visitors expressed how impressive the conduct, welcome and incites of our students were. As ever, we will continue to encourage students to engage critically with any information they consume in the media, and as a Catholic community, we pray for peace, as the human toll of this conflict continues. 

If you would like any more information about the work of this organisation, please feel free to visit https://solutionsnotsides.co.uk/.

Miss R. Monk