Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha Visit
On 2nd February a party of 50 Year 9 students and staff made a long day trip to visit the Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha in Southall, London. This fits directly into the GCSE Syllabus, as the beliefs and practices of Sikhism is one of the two main religions studied (and of course GCSE B&V starts in Year 9); textbooks, photos and even virtual tours are very good, but there’s no substitute for experiencing the size, grandeur and peace of a large Gurdwara. Similarly, it’s always beneficial for students to experience a multi-ethnic community very unlike Devon. There are eight Gurdwara in Southall, but from the coach journey in we could also see mosques, and a variety of Christian denomination churches
The visit was superbly organised by Ms Brotherton, and our students were brilliant throughout. Despite a 6 am start, the journey up was uneventful; the students observed all the expectations in the Gurdwara perfectly and respectfully; many asked good questions of our tour guide; all were sensible and responsible in our brief time in Southall High Street to experience a multi-cultural environment very different to Devon; and although seemingly fuelled on sugar, the journey back was good, too. Thanks to Ms Brotherton, Ms Jenkins and Mrs Manaton for their skilful student management.