Millbay Academy has teamed up with Plymouth Argyle to support ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ Campaign! This week the school had the privilege to welcome Kadus Smith from Argyle Community Trust, who has been introducing Millbay Academy students to the important story of legendary Plymouth Argyle player Jack Leslie.

Argyle Community Trust have been speaking to students throughout the week about the story and life of Jack Leslie, a former Plymouth based professional footballer with an incredible international story. Kadus has been talking with students throughout the week about acceptance, racial bias and Plymouth in general as it becomes a more diverse city.

The school week culminated in ‘Wear Red Day’ where students across both Primary and Secondary wore red in support of the ‘Show Racism The Red Card’ Campaign! The Secondary students also attended assemblies with Argyle Community Trust to discuss the nature of racism and how to embrace diversity. Students raised a total of £317!

Kadus Smith said:

“We pride ourselves on our diverseness and inclusivity. The story of Jack Leslie is one of rejection and racial bias in sport and society. A modern day Plymouth Argyle and Argyle Community Trust strive to be representative of our communities and provide a service for everybody.”

Alex Boyce, Head of Key Stage 3 at Millbay Academy, said:

“The Show the Red Card to Racism 'We Wear Red campaign' is a fantastic project that has been running for 15 years, helping to tackle racism not only in sport but in society. As an academy we educate our students on equality and diversity therefore it is important that we support this and raise awareness. At Millbay Academy we are lucky to have students from a wide range of different countries, backgrounds and cultures and we always aim to promote respect and equality within our school environment.”

“We were really lucky to be linked with Plymouth Argyle Football Club and have them visit our students and raise awareness about racism. Unfortunately, racism has been an issue in football for some time and has been recently highlighted in the Euro 2020 tournament. Hearing about racism from this perspective and understanding the impact racism has upon not only our nation, but local community, is really important for our students to be aware of so they can help make a difference.”

Some of our wonderful students Kyla, Mohamad, Harry, Neuvaldo and Rhys interview Kadus: