Hymers celebrates diversity as Culture Day returns for its third year

Culture Day returned to Hymers, turning the Main Hall into a mosaic of sounds and scents to delight the senses and enrich the soul.

A bespoke day on our calendar, when students and staff are invited to come in traditional dress, our students set up a food market selling ethnic foods, while others took to the stage to provide cultural entertainment.

Committee Chair Krithi, and Welcome House representatives Ayosola and Zakiya

Culture Day is an opportunity for our students to share their culture, and learn about others. It is a day when we come together to celebrate the wide diversity we enjoy at Hymers, and increase our sensitivity and awareness of those around us.

This is the third year Hymers has celebrated Culture Day, and each year the event grows. Originally created by a previous student, the day continues to be entirely student-led, with months of planning involved for the voluntary committee.

Krithi R, Chair of this year’s committee, told us: “While Culture day is undeniably a fun event where you get to eat delicious food and listen to good music, I believe it is so much more important than it might initially appear. Culture day is a celebration of the student body at Hymers and is proof that good things come from embracing our differences. It was hard work organising the event, but it was also a privilege to work with a diverse group of my peers who helped make the day a huge success. Above all, I hope that Culture Day managed to inspire students to learn something new and take pride in their heritage."

NCS Officer Emily Powell, with Hull Help for Refugees representatives Gill and Jenny

Culture Day also places a strong emphasis on community. This year everyone made extra food to donate to Welcome House, a local charity which supports asylum seekers and refugees, and all the money made during the day was donated to our school Charities of the Year, Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) and Doreen’s Hull, which came to a grand total of £2202! The committee also organised a clothing drive in aid of Hull Help for Refugees in the weeks leading up to Culture Day, which saw an impressive number of donations. 

Emily Powell, Hymers’ NCS Officer, said: “Culture Day is a fantastic celebration of our school’s diversity and values, and it has been a privilege to support the students with the charity side of this student-led event. Their enthusiasm to make a real difference is clear in everything they have done. They have collected clothes for Hull Help for Refugees, donated food to Welcome House, and raised money for our Charities of the Year. This shows just how important community and compassion are to the students at Hymers College.”