Petition to get Good Immigrant (Nikesh Shukla) and Why I’m No longer Talking to White People About Race (Reni Eddo-Lodge), on the GCSE reading list. The current English GCSE reading list consists of authors ranging from 19th Century writers such as; Charles Dickens, George Elliot and Charlotte Bronte. Shakespeare dominates a large portion of reading lists, and modern prose shows a little more diversity with Meera Syal and Maya Angelou amongst George Orwell and John Steinbeck. Although these lists of literature span a wide range of content, they do very little to reflect our current society. Current books on the curriculum - https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/tag/gcse/ With recent events in America (the murder of George Floyd by a police officer), we need to look closer to home on how we can learn from these acts of horror, and how we can lead by example to be the change we want to see, so we can prevent these events from happening again.  Education is where it starts. Although you can have debates and go on marches in the hope of battling closed minds, school is where minds are opened and where we should grasp the opportunity to teach students about diversity and our current society, including the injustices.  That is why I am proposing the following books be added to the GCSE reading lists -  The Good Immigrant by Nikesh Shukla - A collection of essays written by a wide range of the BAME personalities voicing their experiences of racism in this country. The contributors range from actors, to journalism, musicians and writers.  Each essay offers a different perspective and view point.  Why I am no longer talking to white people about Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge - This books spans a wide range of issues relating to the institutional racism of this country. It confronts British history, feminism and the class system. This book started out as a blog post and after such a wide response, Eddo-Lodge decided to expand her response. It’s had international success.  These two books wouldn’t only contribute diversity to the current GCSE reading lists, they would also highlight our current society’s diversity, inequalities and opportunities for change. Highlighting this to young adults will hopefully ignite a desire to be part of the change and also stamp out ignorance towards diversity.

This petition is to call for British Black History to be made mandatory throughout schools in the UK. Many people today do not know that black communities have been in the UK from the beginning and as the growing population of people of colour and mixed children continues, it is a shock that it is not part of our education system. In Primary school and First Year of secondary education, we are taught of Black History in American and the slave trade that occurred there. We are taught the names of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., yet many people have never heard the names of Ignatius Sancho and Stuart Hall. They have never heard of the slave trade that occurred in Britain. It is only fair that children be educated on the heritage of black and brown people and make it part of the curriculum. The history of POCs have been erased in our country and it is not right, people in our country are not being taught about the racism that occurred here, e.g. the murder of Stephen Lawrence, and that is still occurring here making people believe that the UK is exempt to racism when that is not the case. As well as teaching black history, it is important to teach black culture (this will include all races and culture, including Asia). If we are taught different religions in our RE classes, we can be taught different African and Asian cultures in our history classes. By teaching our children at a young age, it will bring awareness to the oppression, discrimination and lack of protection that these community face in their day to day life in the hopes of making this country a more understanding, knowledgeable and equal one.

Like many thousands of school pupils doing A levels, GCSEs, BTECs and other qualifications, I’d expected to be getting my exam results this week. Instead, because of coronavirus, all of us who couldn’t take exams are having our results decided by a computer algorithm, which doesn’t look at our individual performance and marks us down for which school we went to. Almost 40% of A-level assessments have been downgraded, potentially impacting the futures of thousands of young people. This is not right - and I’m calling on the Government to urgently sort out this injustice. For a lot of pupils, the algorithm doesn’t even consider what our own teachers predicted we’d get. There isn’t a proper appeals process. Worst of all, pupils from poorer schools, with lower results historically, are due to get automatically marked down by the software. Poorer pupils get marked down because of where they live and the school they go to, with their individual efforts and performance disregarded and their teacher’s assessments ignored. How can this be right? Nobody's saying that this year's arrangements for results are easy to sort out. The times we live in are difficult ones, but that’s no excuse for building a system that systematically discriminates against poorer pupils. Appeals using mock exams aren't the solution, not least because many people don't have reliable or recent mocks, and many would perform better at the end of the year than months ago. I’m calling for Boris Johnson, and his Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, to step in and fix it urgently. At a minimum, the Government must ensure there is: No “marking down” of individual pupils based purely on them having gone to a less good school A free appeals system open to any pupil More weight given to our own teachers’ assessments, as they are better placed than an algorithm to judge us as individuals  I go to a comprehensive school in West London, and had the benefit of some of the best teachers I could have asked for. I've done well in my results, but me personally doing okay does not make the Government's proposed system fair. I am disgusted at the number of my friends, as well as thousands of students up and down the country, receiving grades that aren't indicative of the hard work and effort that's been put in for the last two years. This system could have resulted in 18-year-old students receiving grades, perhaps on the basis of last year's pupils having a bad day, and those same students subsequently having no recourse beyond sitting new exams after it was already too late for their chance to go to university. The Government can choose to stop this injustice. I have sat on the end of the phone in a previous year comforting a close friend of mine whose exam results were far from what they expected. I do not want more of my friends brought to tears solely because the Government decided that the numbers that they produced from a computer were infallible.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/apbzej-please-help-maddy?utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_nacp+share-sheet&rcid=8758c75ded5b4eb5b8f3ce8be4e6ebbc As per go fund me page link above you will see on the 4th February 2020, Maddy, a 13 year old girl whom had just started high school was brutally bashed in a public restaurant, whilst being filmed, by two older females (14 and 15 years of age) Whilst unconscious, her front teeth were kicked out of her mouth by one of the savage attackers.  The Avenues School that the attackers and victim go to has suspended the attackers, however this is NOT GOOD ENOUGH! What do we have a justice system for? We can’t take the matter into our own hands, as much as many would like, because then we would be committing the same crime that these vicious girls did. I am petitioning for these girls to be Expelled from this school and that both girls parents come forward and publicly apologise on behalf of their disgraced children for the pain and suffering caused to their innocent victim Maddy.  **update**I also agree that the attackers should have to fund all related medical/ physical/ emotional expenses that will occur from their beating of Maddy. On behalf of the North Eastern Community, we demand: EXPEL THE GIRLS! PARENTS TO PUBLICLY APOLOGISE! 

A-level and GCSE results will be handed out in August this year on the normal date expected, with results based on work so far, mock exam results, teacher assessments and other factors. Each school has someone to sign this off, that person is accountable and their calculations will have to stand up to scrutiny. The Government Dept responsible for this has decided in their wisdom to reduce those grades by up to 33% We call on Boris Johnson to intervene now and stop this. No school is going to set a child up for something they cannot achieve, that would be senseless. Uni places already hang in the balance. The govt has already u turned on the date results will be available and children’s mental health is suffering.  Genuine A* students with top university offers face not getting their firmed place, this is the rest of their lives being played with like they are pawns in the government’s game. This is the life they have worked hard for and deserve. All students with conditional offers have their futures at risk, this is wrong... bright kids, deserving kids, hard-working kids having their futures ripped away.. please help us get this petition to parliament ASAP before more kids’ lives are destroyed. 

Due to the mostly remote learning since March of 2020 students all over New York have struggled to actually learn during this pandemic. Speaking from personal experience and living through these crazy times I can say that I haven’t been able to grasp the information as I did as when we were in school full-time. Many students in my school have felt stressed by the content of the work and amount we are receiving. Upperclassmen are also faced with the added stress of having to take and study for the SAT exam. Also, after consulting with my peers many feel they would not score as well as if they had been in school for the amount of time that we have been out. In addition, these exams aren’t tested by the nation as a whole so I feel this test is not a necessity due to our current circumstances. This is a time that no one has ever lived through before and had to adjust to as students. If you read this petition and consider my proposal of canceling the NYS Regents Exams for the 2020-2021 school year it would be greatly appreciated by not only me but as a whole all my peers across the entire state of New York. Thank you for your time!

I am the proud father of incredibly courageous, fierce and strong daughters, the eldest of which attends Secondary School. It not only saddens me that I am urged to write to you, but it also raises significant concerns surrounding the physical, mental and social wellbeing of not only my daughters but all people who have periods across the country.  I'm sure anyone who has had a period would agree, that at some stage, they have suffered significantly from Dysmenorrhoea, yes there is actually a medical term for ‘period pains’. The reason for this terminology is due to its being a globally recognised medical condition, with a variety of treatment approaches, from over the counter pain relief and a hot water bottle to surgical interventions. By not allowing absences due to Dysmenorrhoea, which you are doing by considering them unauthorised, shows very clear disparities, and registering absences as unauthorised due to a medical condition only affecting women and people who menstruate is a clear demonstration.  This leads me to the concerns I have surrounding ignorance of the condition, the impact of a CIS male-dominated field within the senior leadership teams in schools, or the sheer disregard for the physical, emotional and academic wellbeing of our pupils. As the department responsible for Education it baffles me that the following archaic approach is not only alive and well but also continuing to influence practice in 2021 posing a direct risk to our young women, trans, non-binary pupils and everyone pupil has by no choice of theirs own menstruates. This morning 22nd September 2021, yes 2021, NOT 1821, I needed to contact our school's administration team to report an absence due to a medical condition. The message was brief with no real personal details given. The reason for not divulging the details of the condition is because I was doing so on behalf of my thirteen-year-old daughter, who is not only capable of making her own informed decisions as to what information is shared with others but I would not freely discuss my daughter's health needs without her consent. Frankly, schools should not be requiring such information either, they are not medical professionals, nor would they fully understand the full extent or severity of any condition through a phone call. It is also highly intrusive and asking for the reason is ethically and morally questionable.  For as long as humankind has walked the planet 50% of the human species have been menstruating, it is not only a completely natural occurrence, but it is crucial to the survival of the human race, fact! It is also a known fact that for centuries this recurring cycle has been seen as a weakness by many, particularly by men, and has resulted in decades of inequality, disparity and inequity for women and those who might be necessarily identify as female but still suffer on a regular basis. We are seeing this in action still, presenting through absence policies and school assemblies. How many young females, trans and non-binary pupils are being dismissed within the education setting, as a result of diminishing their experiences, and unilaterally deciding that their discomfort does not matter.  This attitude and the rules coming into play are: Not conducive to learning. Not conducive to empowering our young women. Not conducive to creating equity within schools. Damaging the academic prospects, by reducing official records of attendance due to periods.  Clearly showing the disparity between males and marginalised pupils by the reasons an absence will be authorised or unauthorised.  We need to make significant changes not only to the institutions responsible for nurturing our young women and future leaders but also need to educate the prehistoric mindsets of the policy creators and decision-makers. Please sign this petition to start protecting the rights and dignity of our young females within the education setting. Marcus Alleyne, Proud father of our fierce, brave and intelligent young daughters.

We call for the school curriculum to be amended to educate all school children in the United Kingdom about the existence of racism in the UK and how to combat this. Educate young people on the very prevalent suffering and injustices, as well as the systematic oppression many people of colour face in the United Kingdom. Teach the youth how to spot racism, and how to act against it. We need to accept Britains past, and openly discuss this. Explore the roots of racism in the UK today, understand and explain how to overcome them. We need to discuss how to make amends, and let young people contribute to the conversation.  The most valuable source of education comes from those who have experienced racism. Provide resources to young people to educate themselves further. Do not let our education system become biased.  We can only progress if we educate.

In 2016, our local school - Longshaw Primary School - was forced by the Department for Education into becoming an academy. Us parents were given no say in how this may affect our children. Now a slew of financial irregularities have been uncovered, dozens of teachers have left and almost 100 children too. The Silver Birch Academy Trust of which the school is under, is being dissolved in accordance with parent demand. That is why we're calling for failed academies to have the option of being brought into local authority supervision to bring stability. If this doesn't happen, we fear these failures could lead to our children not getting the education they deserve or need for their futures. At the time, we started to realise something was going very wrong when teachers didn’t come back after holiday breaks. We were given no notice of teachers leaving, our children would return from holidays to find much-loved teachers replaced with agency staff. Some children have experienced as many as 7 different teachers in 2 years and in the academic year of 2017/2018, only 4 out of the 14 classes did not experience a change of teacher. In addition, we have discovered that the Trust had employed unqualified family members to teach and that members of its management team were providing their personal services as consultants, charging the school as much as £650 a day. This isn't just a one off case. Since speaking out, we've had parents across the country tell us the same thing is happening to their children's schools. Why is this being allowed to happen? There are too many stories like ours, where Trusts have grossly failed our children and teachers in our schools. Morale is low amongst staff, school funds have been depleted and parents have been kept in the dark. Meanwhile the CEO and deputy CEO have paid themselves huge salaries. Trusts are not held accountable. Our school cannot afford another Trust that is rife with cronyism, nepotism and financial self-interest and for as long as the current system remains, this behaviour will continue. Our local authority Waltham Forest still has many schools under its supervision and these schools have prospered. Returning Longshaw to the local authority is in the best interest of the school and will ensure that it is accountable to the community. We love our school and want it to prosper even when our kids no longer attend the school. Please sign our petition.

The education system in the UK is failing British children. The tragic death of George Floyd has highlighted the existance of systematic racism in America's modern society. It's easy for Brits to view this as 'America's problem'. However, the UK is not innocent. We, too, have a history and society tainted with racism. In order to change this, we need to learn the lessons of the past. However, I believe, as a British 16 year old in the state school system, that schools in the UK are failing to do this.  GCSE students are taught in detail about America's civil rights movement, yet very few students know about the British movement. All students know about Martin Luther King, but how many know about Paul Stephenson? We all know the story of Rosa Parks, but did you know that there were also British Bus Boycotts in protest of the 'colour bar' that excluded non-white workers from the transport industry? We are taught from a very young age that our country once 'owned' a quarter of the territories in the world, and we are told the story of Christopher Columbus's journey to America as if it is a romantic voyage of discovery. However, the education system skirts around the fact this caused deep suffering of native people in the colonies (for example the Amritsar Massacre of 1919), and how ultimately this created the foundation for the systematic racial injustice in modern society. We are taught about the slave trade was one of the greatest horrors in human history. Despite this, it is not mandatory for pupils to study. Schools which don't teach about this in detail leave students unaware that the British transported an estimated 3.1 million black people from their homes in horrific conditions, then sold them - as though they were 'goods' - to plantation owners. We can't allow this kind of historical amnesia to grow in the community.  Unless we receive proper education about the origins of racism in this country, entire generations will continue to view racism as 'America's problem'. We need to be able to accept that our country has a history tainted with racism so that we can learn from past mistakes and build a stronger, fairer and brighter community.  The KS3 curriculum for history and/or PSHE must contain a truthful, full education in British colonialism, the British slave trade and the British civil rights movement, as this will allow the future leaders of the UK to identify still existing problems with racism in this country, so that we can create positive, lasting change. This needs to be taught to all students, therefore must be taught in year 9 or below and importantly must be MANDATORY across all schools. Unless the curriculum changes, systematic racism in this country can't change.