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Last year, Wellington’s Inclusion Ambassadors launched an art competition for pupils at Wellington College Prep. The goal was to explore and celebrate differences, promote cultural understanding and give pupils a platform to share their own unique stories. In a special assembly designed and run by the Ambassadors they explained to the younger pupils that their artwork should embody the values of inclusion and belonging. 
Naima Charlier, Director of Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Social Responsibility created this competition as she believes art encourages self-expression and enables pupils to evolve their ideas in a safe space. She said “When children are asked to think of their own ideas, they feel empowered. The creative work they produced facilitated even more sophisticated conversations about empathy and what it means to feel a sense of belonging. Pupils were able to share details of their heritage which has helped to foster cultural understanding.”
Three pieces of artwork were chosen as finalists from each class, then three overall winners from Years 1-3 (Leila S), 4-6 (Lucy L-P) and 7-8 (Isla L-P), and three runners-up, were announced at a prize-giving assembly at the Prep School. Several other pupils got a special mention including Jemima’s “The Peas” which was House Mistress Emma Haining’s favourite. The maturity of the entries was commented upon by the Ambassadors and judges and it was particularly nice to see some pupils submit personal letters along with their entries in which they shared their own stories.
Director of Art, Alice Carpenter, said: “I am so impressed with the artwork and the concept of using artistic expression as a platform to express understanding and interpretation of the values of inclusion and belonging… I was blown away at the symbolism and thought that went into all the work.”
The pupils’ work was displayed at Wellington College for senior school pupils to see, and one of the Inclusion Ambassadors spoke about the project at Ed Fest 2024 as part of a wider conversation around EDI at Wellington. All of the artwork has been digitally scanned and Wellington staff and pupils are actively using it in assemblies and training sessions focused on equality, diversity and inclusion.
Naima will run the competition again this year with the current Inclusion Ambassadors who have chosen a theme called ‘Together We Shine’. The focus is on how everyone is unique and special and that we are stronger when we celebrate each other’s differences. In addition to the Wellington College Prep students, this year Third formers from Wellington College will also take part.
Every child’s wellbeing is inextricably linked to their sense of belonging and by investing time and effort into initiatives like the Inclusive Art Competition we are telling the whole school community how much this matters
