Students from Queen Elizabeth’s Academy, part of Diverse Academies, attended the No To Hate conference at the National Holocaust Centre in Laxton as part of the Building A Stronger Britain Together project.

The project is bringing together students from 40 academies and schools throughout the UK, aimed at raising awareness of prejudice, stereotyping and hate crime.

In July, 140 students participated in workshops at Queen Elizabeth’s, Mansfield, which explored the issues and then selected 12 students to become the academy’s ambassadors for the project and attend the conference.

Students listened to former EDL (English Defence League) regional organiser Ivan Humble talk about how he became involved with the EDL and how he managed to break free and engaged with communities that he had previously alienated.

They also listened to the story of Sophie Lancaster, who was murdered simply for being a Goth, to gain further insight into the ways in which hate crime can be perpetrated.

James Griffiths, humanities teacher at Queen Elizabeth’s, said: “We have been privileged to be part of this project, raising awareness of these important issues in young people. The conference was an enlightening experience for our students and staff, with important messages about inclusion that we will embed at our academy.”

The students also created short social media films that will be used at Queen Elizabeth’s to raise awareness of hate crime, together with creating and signing the No To Hate pledge.