The power of racial literacy: insights from Hemisphere and Highgate School

Racial literacy is a life skill. A skill that empowers everyone, whatever their background, to be more confident in their day-to-day interactions. A skill that supports young people to positively impact their communities, both now and in the future.

In schools, racial literacy is a tool that can help every student thrive. The evidence shows that everyone benefits when every child feels included: the students are happier, the schools are safer, there’s better behaviour, there are stronger relationships between staff and students, and improved learning outcomes for everyone.

An evidenced need for racial literacy training

Hemisphere’s research reaffirms what we already know: that many students from minority backgrounds face subtle and overt forms of racial discrimination within educational environments. Our recent survey found that 83% of Black heritage students reported experiencing jokes related to their ethnicity, while 74% of South Asian students felt pressured to be “less of themselves” at school. In addition, 100% of White students felt uncomfortable or unable to discuss race and racism openly and honestly at school. Empowering every student in their peer-to-peer interactions is a core part of enabling every student to succeed.

How Highgate is building its students’ racial literacy

In collaboration with Hemisphere, Highgate School has embedded racial literacy training into its PSHE curriculum, providing senior school pupils with the specific skills, knowledge, and customised recommendations to address racial inclusion challenges both in and outside of school. Through Hemisphere’s programme Highgate pupils have been equipped to identify and suitably counter behaviours such as race-related ‘jokes’ to provide an improved sense of belonging for all pupils.

Hemisphere’s student programme uses informative animations, interactive exercises, and expert insights on ethnicity bias to introduce positive behaviours to peer-to-peer interactions. The training is completed by every student every year for three years. Each year focuses on a different ethnic group to help to broaden students’ cultural understanding.

The impact at Highgate

Together, we are improving every Highgate student’s academic and social experiences. As a result of the training:

One Highgate student highlighted the programme’s ability to foster empathy and reflection among peers:

Integrating racial literacy into school life can be transformative, for individual students and for the broader school culture.

By empowering students to be inclusive and empathetic, Highgate is one of thirteen HMC Hemisphere Partner schools making strides toward a more inclusive educational experience for everyone.

The team at Hemisphere Education and Rare