Our History Department and Reps were delighted to share the very first edition of Aikin – the NHEHS History Magazine with the school last week.

Launched to coincide with Black History Month, our editors wanted this Black History Month issue to highlight and remember the stories of Black people through the centuries up to the present day.  In addition, students enjoyed an assembly about notable and inspiring Black role models from History, while recommended reading and watching lists have been distributed to all form groups to broaden their knowledge, while the KS3 curriculum has also been restructured this year to incorporate a more diverse span of history across each year group.

By Beatriz, Freya and Aliyyah, Year 13 History Reps

Welcome to Aikin’s first issue! 

We chose to name our magazine after Lucy Aikin, a remarkable historian and writer, who embraced Enlightenment ideals and challenged the cultural oppression of women. She expressed that human traits are not exclusive to a single gender, highlighting the consequences of patriarchal systems and writing on history from a feminist perspective.

This may be our first issue, but it will likely be the most important one we will ever publish. This year has been a reminder that the fight against racism is not over. In the wake of George Floyd’s unjustified murder by an American policeman, the Black Lives Matter movement has been at the forefront of public consciousness. We wanted to highlight this by sharing and remembering the stories of Black people, from people of colour in Roman Britain, all the way to participants in the present day BLM movement. 

Black History Month is a time of reflection. It is a time of remembering that Black History goes beyond stories of slavery. It is a time of recognising the achievements of Black citizens that might have been forgotten or ignored by past societies. We are so proud of everyone who submitted their articles, helping to sustain dialogue on this critical issue.

We hope you enjoy this publication.