As part of this year’s SuttonBury EDI Festival, our annual Equality, Diversity and Inclusion celebration, students took part in a programme of author visits, creative workshops and inclusive reading activities. This year’s theme, A New Day, was interpreted through new voices, new perspectives, new creative experiences and new ways of engaging with reading. The programme linked with the spirit of the National Year of Reading 2026, encouraging students to see reading beyond the printed page.
On Monday 22 June, Lucas Maxwell visited Sutton High to introduce to our Year 8s his debut YA novel, A Million Tiny Missiles All At Once. His visit linked to A New Day through the idea of seeing the world from a new perspective. The book explores neurodiversity, identity, family, resilience and belonging. Instagram Post
On Tuesday 23 June, Tasneem Abdur-Rashid, author of Odd Girl Out, spoke to a group of our Year 9s about representation, identity, faith, culture, family and belonging. Her book is also part of this year’s GDST Book Award selection. Students responded very positively to her visit, asked thoughtful questions, and several came to the Library afterwards asking about borrowing or reading her book. Instagram Post
Students also took part in a Silent Listening activity using wireless headsets. They could move between channels or choose the one that best suited their mood: an audiobook channel featuring The Emotionally Intelligent Teen, a mindfulness channel with guided meditation, calming visuals and captions, and a music and movement channel where students listened to lyrics and expressed themselves through dance. The activity encouraged students to see reading in a different way: through listening, lyrics, captions, images, movement, wellbeing and personal response. It was very well received, with students enjoying the freedom to choose between movement, mindfulness and audiobook listening.
We were also delighted to welcome manga artist and illustrator Chie Kutsuwada back to Sutton High for the third year. Her workshop celebrated manga, illustration, visual storytelling and creativity, showing students that stories can be told through images as well as words. Instagram feed
Across the week, students experienced A New Day as a new perspective, a new voice, a new creative interest and a new way to explore reading.
Prep’s Author Visit – Tola Okogwu
“When she met us, she spoke about how she started her career and what inspired her to write some of her books. She stated how she did not want to write books similar to other authors and so she followed her own path. She quoted that her daughters did not like reading so she decided to ask what type of books they like. They said they loved romance books with mystery, so she went on a hunt to look for books like that, but then she realised she is an author herself and she can make books like that.
She believed she could pursue her own journey on her books. What books did inspire her was, Lottie Brooks, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries. She expressed her feelings towards her books and what brought her to writing them to the students. She even shared her own stages of her life, like when she had to move from Africa to England at the age of six.
In her eyes she believes everyone can start over again if things fail, you can always change, you can follow your own dreams and not let anyone break you and to never give up and stand up for who you are.” – By Lara 5H
