In celebration of Black History Month 2025, The Albion Foundation’s mentoring team hosted a collapsed curriculum day at The Hawthorns for Premier League Inspires students at two local schools.
Pupils from Sandwell Academy and Holly Lodge High School were given the chance to design a poster to be displayed on the big screens at a Hawthorns matchday, and enjoyed an adapted stadium tour.
Mentor Aaliyah Browne says that the day helped pupils “reflect and celebrate their culture.”
“Today we’ve had a collapsed curriculum day at The Hawthorns, where we’ve been celebrating Black History Month,” Aaliyah said. “We’ve had two schools, Sandwell Academy and Holly Lodge, who joined us today to join in some tasks and create a design to be displayed on the big screens at an Albion home match.
“I think it’s really important that we have days like this where we come together and celebrate Black History Month. It reflects the community and the young people.
“It’s important to reflect their culture and celebrate it. It’s really exciting and great to see the young people, they’ve made really good designs and have just been able to showcase what it means to them.
“They were very receptive to the theme. When they were in the schools, they did a six-week curriculum to learn about Black History Month, and how that ties in with their local region.”
One pupil from Sandwell Academy says that the day helped them learn more about their “identity.”
They said: “Black History Month means to me knowing my identity and learning to be proud of it. It’s important to remember the pain and suffering our ancestors went through, and to celebrate who are and not be ashamed.
“We should embrace our culture and not hide it. We’ve done some quizzes, we’ve done some teamwork-types of activities.
“We also made a poster which will go on the screens for the game. I’ve really enjoyed the experience.”
