Our Class Names
Each year we name our classes after people who inspire us. They come from all fields, from poets and authors, to dancers and musicians.
Nursery: Adeola Class
Dapo Adeola is an award-winning illustrator and co-creator of the best-selling picture book, Look Up; winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. Dapo was born and brought up in London and of Nigerian heritage. He has been drawing from a young age, and would often draw his favourite characters from cartoons and video games. His love of Art and Design also came from looking at the illustrations in the books he liked to read, taking inspiration from illustrators, Quentin Blake, Ronald Searle and in particular, American comic book artist Jim Mahood. Growing up, his love of comic books led to him wanting to create and design his own characters and tell their own stories, with a wide range of experiences and representations. This led him to create characters today that challenge the expectations of race and gender in an accessible way for children. The inspiration for the main character Rocket, in Look Up was his niece, who he describes as 'very curious'. Dapo has gone onto collaborate with other authors to tell more inspiring stories and is keen to highlight the possibilities of a career in illustrating and story-telling to underrepresented members of the Black Diaspora.
Reception: Coelho Class
Image credit: Hayley Madden / Joseph Coelho
Joseph Coelho is a British Caribbean poet and author. He grew up in a tower block in London and developed a passion for poetry and performance at school. He didn’t think it would be possible to become a writer professionally, so had a variety of jobs but always continued to write in his own time. After studying Archaeology at university, he joined a drama group and began performing his poems. This, along with running writing workshops, eventually lead to him publishing his first collection of poems - Werewolf Club Rules. This set of poems resulted in Joseph winning the CLPE CLiPPA Award in 2015. He continues to write poetry and stories for children. These stories are an inspiring mix of humour, happiness, grief and about learning to express yourself.
Reception: Packham Class
Image credit: © BBC
Chris Packham is a British environmental speaker, photographer, author and television presenter. He has dedicated his life and career to his passion for the natural world. Chris is a conservationist and advocate for wildlife. He began a non for profit organisation in 2019, named 'Wild Justice' to ensure that wildlife in the UK is protected by law. Since 2017, Chris has been an ambassador for the National Autistic Society. He lives a sustainable lifestyle and encourages others to do the same. Most recently, he has produced a documentary with the BBC called 'Inside Our Autistic Minds' which shares the stories of four autistic people and their families. Chris is campaigning for representation of autistic people on platforms such as television and was quoted as saying “Better public understanding of autism across society could transform hundreds of thousands of autistic people's lives.”
Year One, Applegate Class
Image credit: Jessica-Jane Applegate
Jessica-Jane Applegate MBE is a world-class swimmer and has represented the Great British Para-Swimming team for the past decade. She has won medals at the last three Paralympic Games! Jessica has autism and swims in the S14 classification with other swimmers who also have autism. Applegate believes one can achieve anything once you have set your goals. “Ignore what anyone has to say. If you believe that you can, you can do it." - Jessica Applegate
Year One, Kanneh-Mason Class
Image Credit: London Fields Primary School
Sheku Kanneh-Mason MBE is a British cellist. He was the first black musician to win the BBC Young Musician of the Year Award in 2016. The Kanneh-Masons are a group of seven brothers and sisters, who all play either the violin, piano or cello. We were lucky enough to receive a visit from Braimah and Konya Kanneh-Mason! They performed some inspirational music for us.
Year Two, Ilori Class
Yinka Ilori MBE is an artist and designer known for his playful and bright designs for furniture and public spaces. Born in Islington, London, his work is inspired by his British-Nigerian heritage. Ilori began his career upcycling chairs using inspiration from the colours and textures of West African textiles. Ilori has worked with many companies including ADIDAS, Nike, Marks and Spencer, Lego and Selfridges, as well as the NHS Foundation Trust. In 2021, Ilori designed the music trophy given to singers including Taylor Swift, Harry Styles and Dua Lipa at the BRIT awards. Ilori also designed colourful pedestrian crossings which brightened up Tottenham Court Road, and giant billboards of his work in the streets of London during the Covid-19 crisis spread messages of hope and love.
Year Two, Banneker Class
Image credit: Getty Images
Benjamin Banneker was a neurodivergent, African-American man who was known as the expert on time and space. Banneker was unable to go to school, but self taught himself astronomy, and even crafted a wooden clock at the age of 21, which kept perfect time! He tracked when the Sun, Moon, and stars would appear in the skies on every day within the coming year. His almanacs were praised by European scientists and most importantly by Thomas Jefferson. Banneker also wrote essays and pamphlets arguing against slavery and war.
Year Three, Aderin-Pocock
Dame Margaret Aderin-Pocock DBE is a British space scientist and science educator. Growing up, Aderin-Pocock found reading and writing difficult at school due to being diagnosed with dyslexia. However, a discovery of a book with an astronaut on the cover changed her life forever and was the start of her fascination with the wonders of space. Aderin-Pocock went on to study science and made her very own discoveries about space. She describes how she worked hard to overcome stereotypes by staying true to her goal. Despite not fitting the common image of a ‘serious, white male scientist’, she made it. Her message to others is simple: "Believe in yourself, and you can achieve so much.”
Year Three, Underwood Class
Image Credit: Eric Underwood
Year Four, Thunberg Class
Greta Thunberg is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, she started learning about climate change when she was 8 years old. Thunberg had (and continues to have) a strong belief that more needed to be done about climate change and she decided to take action. In August 2018, instead of going to school, she made a large sign that read ‘SCHOOL STRIKE FOR CLIMATE’, and calmly sat down outside the Swedish parliament. She hoped that she would make politicians take notice and act to stop global warming. Thunberg was diagnosed with Autism and calls this her “superpower." She says it helps her see the world in black and white, and that there are “no grey areas when it comes to climate change.”
Year Four, Arday Class
Arday was born in May 1985 in Clapham, South London. Arday said he was diagnosed with autism at 3 years old and possessed a global development delay, causing him to be unable to speak until he was 11, and unable to read and write until he was 18. Even though Arday remembers school being difficult, he went on to earn two master's degrees before becoming a physical education teacher. He then earned his Ph.D. at Liverpool John Moores University in 2015. Arday ultimately made history as the youngest Black professor at Cambridge, joining the ranks of one of the most prestigious universities in England, along with five other Black professors at the university overall.
Year Five, Rauf Class
Onjali Qatara Raúf MBE is a British author and the founder of the two NGOs: Making Herstory, a woman's rights organisation and O's Refugee Aid Team, which raises awareness and funds to support refugee frontline aid organisations. Raúf is of British Bangladeshi heritage. Her work is informed in part by her experiences of racism in childhood. Raúf's début children's novel, The Boy at the Back of the Class won numerous awards, drawing on her own experience delivering emergency aid convoys for refugee families surviving in Calais and Dunkirk. Inspired by a Syrian mother and baby she encountered in a Calais refugee camp, it portrays the refugee crisis through the eyes of a child.
Year Five, Loach Class
Image Credit: London Fields Primary School
Mikaela Loach is a climate justice activist. She has previously studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and now uses social media for campaigning. Alongside, Jo Becker, Loach is the co-producer, writer and presenter of the Yikes podcast, which explores climate change, human rights and social justice. She is the author of the book 'It's not that radical: Climate action to Transform Our World.' Loach has also recently released a book for children called 'Climate is just the start' and we were lucky enough to host Mikaela in School to help her launch it!
Year Six, Amatina Class
Image credit: Creative Commercial Photography
Mahlia Amatina is an international artist based in Reading, whose artistic practice began just before she was diagnosed with Autism in 2015. Her work is focused on themes around neurodiversity, and she uses multi-sensory experiences to give insight into life on the autistic spectrum. Her practice includes immersive interactive installations, abstract mixed media paintings and digital art work.
Year Six, Fields Class
Image credit: London Fields Primary School
Dwayne Fields FRGS is a British polar explorer, television presenter, and speaker. He is the first black Briton to reach the North Pole. Fields was born in Jamaica and grew up in Stoke Newington, London, from the age of six. During his early life, he witnessed violent crime, including one incident where he survived an attempt on his life in a rival London estate because his adversary's gun jammed. He holds a degree in Psychology and Business Management from University of East London. His work with youth groups has led him to co-found the WeTwo Foundation, which provides adventure opportunities for underprivileged young people, their inaugural trip to Antarctica was in November 2022, and Fields is a named ambassador for the Scout Association.