On 27 September, Christ’s Hospital hosted an event to celebrate their former pupil, Victoria Forrest, who has won the prestigious Women in Innovation Award from Innovate UK, by unveiling a purple plaque in her honour on the school site.
The purple plaque is Innovate UK’s twist on the blue plaques seen in the UK. Currently, just 14% of blue plaques in the UK celebrate the achievements of women. This highlights a national issue of the underrepresentation of women in the media, the workplace and in the education system, resulting in a lack of relatable role models for children and young people.
Purple plaques are being displayed at schools across the country to recognise the achievements of some of the women innovators who have won its prestigious Women in Innovation Award. The Award also sees recipients receive a cash injection of £50,000 and bespoke mentoring to scale up and bring to market their pioneering business ideas.
Victoria Forrest is one of a network of over 150 Women in Innovation Award winners who are developing pioneering innovations to tackle pressing societal, environmental, and economic challenges; from delivering precision medicine to underrepresented populations, to offering eco-friendly materials for the aerospace industry and creating cutting-edge digital educational tools.
Victoria Forrest, based in Bristol, has developed a series of Augmented Reality books that inspire the use of British Sign Language in all Families, deaf and hearing.
Victoria Forrest said: ‘I am immensely proud to receive this prestigious award. Not just in recognition of VIKA’s work to improve integration between deaf and hearing communities, but also for the legacy of inclusion we have planned with the school. I hope this will be just the first of many women “Old Blues” to be recognised within the architecture of the school. I’m looking forward to seeing how the achievements of women through the school’s rich, near 500-year history will inspire future generations of girls.’
Hugo Middlemas, Christ’s Hospital School said: ‘Given the background of many CH pupils, the number of role models that people can relate to can be pretty limited — and the presence of female role models is also limited. These two points are particularly important. I wonder how many female pupils lack the confidence or helpful examples of what others have done to take forward their ideas? A purple plaque will help to ensure the inspiration continues for future generations of pupils as well as provide additional focus for communications with pupils, Old Blues and the wider community.’
Categories: Christ's Hospital School School News
