Neurodiversity Week

Harriet Kelsall Award-winning jewellery designer speaks to our students

Year 10 students enjoyed an inspiring guest talk by awardwinning British jewellery designer Harriet Kelsall, about her life and career as a dyslexic individual, as part of our Neurodiversity Week celebrations.

Harriet Kelsall, who is one of the most respected bespoke designers and business trailblazers working in the jewellery industry, explained to Year 10 students the “three dimensional thinking” strategies she employs to approach her work and how this has empowered her to build a successful career.

Harriet also used her time with students to address common misconceptions about neurodiversity, explaining the proven heightened creativity experienced by many dyslexic people: “Every dyslexic person that I have ever worked with has had a brilliance that they bring to their role and their world. When we approach problems in a “three dimensional” way, it can often seem to others that we are jumping about, but we aren’t – we’re just following paths that are not straight.”

Richard Girvan, Principal of the Stephen Perse Foundation said: “We would like to thank Harriet for inspiring our Year 10 students this week. At the Stephen Perse Foundation, we nurture an inclusive environment in school, and Harriet’s story was really valued by our students as it demonstrated that anyone, no matter their background, can succeed in whatever future they choose.”

Children’s Mental Health Week

‘Let’s Connect’

Following an idea put forward by Hannah S in a friendship group in Year 7, Year 8 decided to express their inter-connectedness by joining together personalised hands down the L block stairwell, the main thoroughfare for Years 7 and 8.

Each student was given a hand to decorate. Some chose to name their favourite footballers whilst others drew pictures of watches, henna patterns, the whole globe and many more creative ideas.

These were then stuck onto the wall following the movement of the stairwell as a visual reminder of how all our separate ideas of ourselves are deeply interconnected and often, very similar. This was to celebrate the theme of 'Let's Connect' which underpinned this year's 'Children's Mental Health Week'.