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21/12/24

Congratulations to our incredibly talented students for their inspiring performances at this years HGAEDs’ Got Talent Show 🎤 🙌 Thank you to the brilliant audience, the sisterhood was palpable! ❤️#charactercourageconscience pic.twitter.com/px5IEkG8UF

21/12/24

Our students impressive metalwork designs, inspired by Art Deco. So many exceptional pieces! pic.twitter.com/LWRGLCdvAP

17/12/24

An absolute privilege to experience the Club Alt closing event . Thank you to the brilliant students who curated this exceptional project and our Y13 panel hosts for their insightful questions pic.twitter.com/iTLPxAye5V

17/12/24

A brilliant match against . Very deserving winners. Thank you to for hosting! 👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/FVqRVvEfK4

17/12/24

Our students visited the in preparation for their collaboration with the museum's "Behind Our Accent" exhibition. Students have shared their personal migration stories in a book written by our students - so inspiring - well done! 👏 pic.twitter.com/cS4vGN4gSr

17/12/24

Ready to welcome Kings 7A to Principal’s Breakfast. Highest attendance in the whole school for Autumn Term! Congratulations 👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/A1uWeEnilD

16/12/24

Thank you for your continued support our HGAED football teams by making your exceptional pitches available. We appreciate it 🙏🏻⚽️🏆

16/12/24

Thank you for such informative assemblies today. https://t.co/xuwPCUCXjw

12/12/24

Our Y11 psychologists put their brain and neuropsychology knowledge to the test by creating detailed models of the human brain. From crafting the cerebral cortex to highlighting the hippocampus, students displayed creativity and an excellent understanding of complex concepts! 🧠 pic.twitter.com/TyBKEqd9ip

29/11/24

Our annual Y7 bubble blowing event. Thank you to the Art department for organising - it is always a highlight for our newest students 🫧 pic.twitter.com/t76NlqbXVd

13/11/24

Looking forward to meeting our prospective students tomorrow for our P16 Open Evening https://t.co/1mN6Vqb4EY

13/11/24

A brilliant day for our Y7 Footballers ⚽️ Thank you pic.twitter.com/FEluOOj7nx

13/11/24

Thank you for the recognition 🙌 https://t.co/ngUiJMzsim

13/11/24

Wearing our odd socks with pride and celebrating our differences for pic.twitter.com/62tN9bqukR

17/10/24

More of the incredible GCSE and A level Art Residential. A trip to the and a private water taxi 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/2d4tb9Ye6y

17/10/24

It is not everyday you get invited to the Venice Biennale. An incredible opportunity for our GCSE and A level artists 🎨🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/oviopxdkih

17/10/24

Join us on Thursday 14th November to learn more about our exceptional 6th Form - 5.00pm - 7.00pm. pic.twitter.com/TAiaUsqq6o

16/10/24

Breakfast with Champions 🏆! Oriel 7A enjoying their Principal's Breakfast for the highest attendance in the whole school. Congratulations Ms Hassan, Mr Oviri, Mr Beresford and all of Oriel 7A 👏 pic.twitter.com/gbCcknaovV

10/10/24

Lunchtime fun in celebration of World Mental Health Day. Playing games made everyone smile 😃 pic.twitter.com/iR8RytYciE

10/10/24

World Mental Health Day at HGAED started with a hot chocolate and a chat because connections matter. Thank you to and our Mental Health Ambassadors for organising such a positive start to the day! pic.twitter.com/bhONAHAGI4

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Latest News

Posted on July 10th 2019

'Hairytage' Project Comes to South London Gallery

A special event at the South London Gallery in June marked the end of a year-long art project, Hairytage, in which students have been collaborating on a project inspired by artist Alix Bizet to explore the significance of hair in Afro-Caribbean communities in Peckham.

Alix started by asking students and teachers to collect combings from their own hair, which she spun into a yarn (pictured below) to represent the diversity of the school.

Hairytage (6)

Alix Bizet (left) and Clare Stanhope, Head of Art, with yarn spun from hair collected by students and teachers.


Students also photographed and filmed hairdressers in Peckham to explore the significance of hair in Afro culture, while an embroidery workshop looked at how the hair can be used to create new objects.

Starting conversations

“The Hairytage project is all about using creative art practices to open up conversations,” says Clare Stanhope, Head of Art. “In this case it’s about issues of identity and also community issues such as gentrification that are driving change in Peckham.”

Hairytage (1)

At the South London Gallery event, Alix Bizet, who is the school’s artist in residence this year, said: “Hair is a material that I work with as a social designer which allows me to look at different aspects of society but which also allows me to tackle some serious and difficult socio-political issues, such as beauty standards, racism, discrimination and gender equality.”

Goldsmiths University

As part of the project, students had workshops with a range of people including artists, academics and poets – led by Year 13 students. They also met local residents to discuss their memories of Peckham and how they feel about how things are changing, and worked with other students across the school, such as Geography and English students, to see how their interests overlapped with the project.

Hairytage (2)

The project included student-led workshops with a range of people including artists, academics and poets.


Students then used yarn made from their hair to create an embroidered garment to capture what they had learned and explored and turn it into a living archive that people can wear, see, touch and retell the memories of people from Peckham as well as add future stories.

“Essence of community”

At the South London Gallery event, students created a dramatic performance depicting the hair salons of Peckham, and attaching images and quotes from throughout the workshops on to a hair-embroidered gown.

Speaking at the event, student Ria said: "When people come together to share their thoughts from across classes, across genders, across cultures and across age ranges, people become empowered. We learn that it is important to listen to each other, to collaborate. By sharing spaces, we learn that there is more that connects us than divides us. And that is the essence of community. That is the essence of the Hairytage project.”

Gown 10

Gown 4

The gown (pictured above) will now become a living archive that can be displayed or worn as a record of the Hairytage project.

“This has been such an exciting project that has taken off in directions none of us could have predicted,” said Ms Stanhope. “One of the aims of projects like this is to show that we can’t always control outcomes or know in advance where things will take us. Hair itself becomes a metaphor of something that grows, but can be taken or dislocated and moved elsewhere to create something new and unexpected.”

Hairytage (3)

This was the first major project to be developed through the Centre for Creative Explorations, which is based at HGAED. This was also the first time the centre had received outside funding to support the project, from Southwark Council.

The school would like to thank all the people who made Hairytage possible including Alix Bizet, South London Gallery, Copeland Gallery, Peckham Levels, South London Gallery, and Southwark Council.


A timeline of the Hairytage project

  • January 2018 – School appoints artist in residence Alix Bizet
  • September 2018 – Hairytage event at Copeland Gallery, part of the Peckham Festival
  • October 2018 – Hairytage event at Peckham Levels for Black History Month
  • June 2019 – Performance at South London Gallery to close the project