It’s Day 4 of Colleges Week 2025! In order to continue celebrating all the incredible things that colleges in the UK are doing to build a brighter future for all, today is focusing on the importance of breaking down barriers to opportunity, ensuring that every student has the chance to thrive regardless of their background.
HSDC is deeply committed to this goal, constantly striving to ensure that all forms of discrimination are eliminated from its campuses. After all, it is the diversity of the College that makes it such an enriching and rewarding learning environment for all who study here.
Discrimination starts when differences between people are treated as harmful, which is why HSDC continues to celebrate its diversity. The College hosts learners from five different continents, and the recent Inclusion Week celebrations were a testament to the benefits of this cultural diversity.
Havant International Day’s Brazil Stand.
Havant Campus saw students representing their heritage by giving out snacks from their different countries and cultures. This included food from Germany, Brazil, Argentina and many more countries, as well as authentic Colombian coffee. A free Samba dance lesson was also held, getting everyone up on their feet!
HSDC also continues to promote the inclusion of women and girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. The College recently marked International Day of Women and Girls in Science by talking to female students and staff in the science departments across all three campuses.
Chizitaram Favour Ozi studies Biology and Psychology at Alton College, and shared some thoughts about how women and girls can achieve gender parity in the sciences:
“Remember, you can do anything you set your mind to. Never let anyone tell you otherwise!”
These celebrations reflect HSDC’s commitment to empowering students of all backgrounds, but the College’s dedication to eliminating barriers to opportunity goes even further.
Alton Geography students on a trip to Brixton, granting them a new perspective on racism in the UK.
Recently, Izzy Wood, Course Lead for Geography and Environmental Science at Alton, has started a campaign to decolonise the curriculum, meaning that staff and students alike are acknowledging and mitigating the impact that colonialism has had on knowledge and learning. Student feedback for this campaign has been overwhelmingly positive so far, with Izzy saying:
“The students have been fascinated with how they can work together to decolonise their education. This is an increasingly important step that we must all take in order to offer a fair and equitable education for all, and to build a stable community for the future.”
HSDC South Downs is also home to the College’s SEND Employability Hub, an institution supported by Hampshire County Council that is dedicated to providing students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) with the skills to gain employment and independence post-College. Beyond this, HSDC has a host of SEND provisions available to students who need it, including fidget toys, emotional literacy support and mindfulness sessions.
The screening of Arlo Kearns’ documentary at HSDC Havant.
Arlo Kearns, an Alton student with multiple complex disabilities, was able to accompany HSDC students to Mexico on a Turing Scheme trip. On the trip, Arlo was able to film and edit a documentary that was later screened at HSDC Havant. Arlo’s story is a testament to his inspiring determination and to the commitment of the College to ensure that its students can overcome any obstacle they face, no matter their personal challenges.
Nobody should have to face any barriers to opportunity, and everybody at HSDC, staff and student alike, is committed to realising this goal.
Find out more about HSDC’s Equity and Inclusion Policy by clicking the link: https://www.hsdc.ac.uk/life-at-hsdc/equality-diversity-and-inclusion/
Find out more about the decolonisation of HSDC’s curriculum by clicking the link: https://www.hsdc.ac.uk/news/2025/02/28/alton-college-lecturer-leads-way-to-decolonise-curriculum/