JAGS was delighted to welcome writer, broadcaster and author Afua Hirsch to the school last week. Afua is a regular contributor to Sky News, C4 News, BBC2’s Newsnight, BBC 1’s Question Time and others. She writes articles for the Sunday Times, the Observer, Time Magazine and Vogue. She was a judge on the 2019 Booker Prize, and she is one half of the fashion brand Sika.

Afua spoke passionately about race and identity, identifying moments in her life in which she questioned what it meant to be a ‘young, mixed-race, black girl with an African name and a middle class upbringing.’ She spoke of how she has spent a lot of time grappling with big questions surrounding race, class and gender, and this prompted her to write her book Brit(ish): On Race Identity and Belonging, which was published in 2017.

The audience consisted of JAGS Politics students, as well as students from the Southwark Schools Learning Partnership and from Central Foundation Girls’ School. The pupils enjoyed the opportunity to ask Afua questions, as well as meeting her after the talk.

Afua also kindly took the time to also speak to Year 6 students from the Prep School about her new book, Equal to Everything, a children’s book which tells the story of Lady Brenda Hale. The girls had been learning about Lady Hale recently in class, and so they loved having the opportunity to learn more about her and to discuss the subject with Afua.

Many thanks to Afua for taking the time to speak to visit JAGS.