York Pride

It was a rainy Saturday morning in June and we congregated under the shelter of the entrance to York Art Gallery with lots of other groups of people covered in rainbow facepaint, flags and holding banners. The Ryedale School group were lucky to have an amazing banner created by Mr Hopkins and his Year 10 artists to show our support for the event and despite the rain we were ready for a celebration of inclusiveness, equality and diversity! Ms Kesterton and Mrs Brown brightened up the group with their marshal hi-vis jackets and students and staff alike donned rainbow facepaint before the parade got underway.

Many York schools were involved in the York Pride event, with over 20 primary, secondary and further education groups taking part in the parade; totalling around 700 participants representing schools and colleges. The school groups had the honour of parading at the front, behind the Pride Bus and as we walked through the centre of York towards the final destination of the Pride festival on the Knavesmire we were greeted with cheers, waving and shouts of encouragement. The Ryedale group did a sterling job of waving our banner all the way around the route which was no small feat in the weather conditions and given the length of the parade so we had a lot to be proud of by the end. We can’t wait for next year’s event, and although it rained on the parade this year we know that taking part in Pride will always bring the rainbow, whatever the weather!

York Pride is a registered charity run by volunteers and trustees which aims to promote equality, diversity and advances in education, in order to eliminate discrimination against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT+) Community. York Pride believes that inclusiveness improves self-esteem and provides a sense of belonging. Pride events take place in the month of June in York and all over the world because June marks the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York City in 1969, events which triggered the LGBT+ Rights movement and sparked the idea of Pride celebrations around the world.

Ms N. Kesterton

Head of History

PS – I thought you might like to see that we (sort of) made it into the news! If you look at the fifth picture down on the BBC article you can just see our excellent Ryedale banner! It was a really fun day despite the weather!