Ormiston Denes Academy celebrated LGBTQ+ people with their second annual Pride event.

The event at the Lowestoft school on Friday, March 16, was organised by students of the school and was supported by local support services for young people, offering advice, information and support to all of the academy's students.

Organisations and institutions in attendance included Norfolk LGBTQ+, Terrence Higgins Trust, Great Yarmouth and Waveney Mind, Lowestoft Sixth Form College, East Norfolk Sixth Form College, Waveney Domestic Violence and Abuse Forum, UEA Mentoring and One Life Suffolk.

The day included a raffle which saw individuals winning prizes donated by the community including the star prize of a 'Brick' bluetooth speaker, donated by Hughes Electrical.

The Pride event followed two other events at the school last week including a spelling bee and a visit from a group of Polish students.

The spelling bee, on Monday, March 12, saw primary school pupils from across the region take part in heats and finals, with students from Ormiston Denes Academy acting as judges and adjudicators during the competition.

The final was an exciting and nail-biting experience with Year 6 pupil Jack Eglington from Blundeston Primary School named the overall champion, beating Year 5 champion Annabelle Taylor from Dell Primary School.

The Year 5 final also saw Rubby Summons from Dell Primary and Tayla Woolnough from Westwood Primary finish second and third respectively, with Tommy Best and Noah Meadows, both from Oulton Broad, finishing second and third respectively in the Year 6 final.

Forty pupils from Mielec, Poland also visited Ormiston Denes Academy last week after asking to visit England's most easterly school.

Pupils from the student council demonstrated what life in England is like with a presentation, a tour, and an opportunity to spend the morning in a PE lesson and food technology lesson.

The students from Poland then presented what a day in the life for them would be, before exchanging gifts and thanks.

In a thank you letter from the staff and students, they said: 'Thank you so much for organising this truly amazing visit. We all had a really good time at Ormiston Denes Academy.'