100 years on: Schoolchildren recreate suffragette march

Those were the chants of students at private school Brighton College this morning (February 6), to mark 100 years since some women were given the right to vote.

Organised as part of Brighton College’s Equalities Week, the girls – and a few boys – were dressed as suffragettes led by 14-year-old Roxy Toyne who made a rousing speech from the school bench before leading her group into the school dining hall to raise awareness of the historic day.

One hundred years ago, some women were given the right to vote, with full suffrage following in 1928.

Assistant headmistress at Brighton College Rachel Hughes said: “We wanted to do something really dramatic to mark the day and the children really took ownership of it.

"Two of our sixthformers, Polly Howarth and Erin Mitchell, organised everything and arranged for the Year 9s to march into the school through the arch and make a spectacle so that every child was aware of this special day.

"We have talked about the significance of February 6 quite a bit in assemblies so the children were all very keen to get involved.”

Pupil Polly Howarth, 17, who coordinated the event, said: “I’m really interested in the issue of equal rights both around the school and generally so this date was a very important one for me and I felt strongly that we should mark it at Brighton College.

"Our school is very pro-active in promoting rights for all and all my friends and I were excited to mark the centenary.