Girls at the Archer Academy shouldn't have to feel the pressure financially and socially that surrounds periods!

In the UK, 137,000 girls miss school each year due to being on their period, hugely damaging their education and therefore future. More close to home, after an optional survey was put up in the girls toilets at Upper School (campus of students aged 14-16) , the results were astonishing! Many girls believed that there was a huge stigma around periods and that they felt uncomfortable talking about them, with boys blaming girl's emotions on their periods and making "jokes about it being gross and unclean". Furthermore, after asking whether they believed it to be easy to access sanitary products, many stated they felt uncomfortable asking for these products from staff, that they couldn't afford the necessary products and that the tax on sanitary products led to them questioning whether it was worth it. 

THIS IS NOT OK! Girls should not be put under pressure to deal with something that is perfectly natural and normal. That is why we have chosen to base our citizenship active campaign on Period Poverty for GCSE. We are a Year 11 pressure group ("Code Red: Misled") and need as much support as we can get to complete our two main aims - reduce stigma around periods and have boxes of free sanitary products in all girls toilets. 

Please help create a school where everyone feels comfortable in their own body by signing this petition to call on our Headteacher, Lucy Harrison, our Barnet Councillor, Mike Freer, our Barnet Mayor, Caroline Stock and Minister of Education, Gavin Williamson to help us make a change in our community.