We wanted to disinvite Lewis from Acland Burghley’s 50th because we felt he was a uncommon choice to celebrate a diverse comprehensive like oursUntil this week it is doubtful that anyone in New Zealand had heard of the north London comprehensive Acland Burghley,let alone cared about its 50th anniversary. Yet, surprisingly, or the tale of our petition,signed by around 100 former students, to disinvite the actor Damian Lewis from appearing at the celebrations gathered international traction, or on Wednesday we were invited on to Radio New Zealand. Apparently we possess reignited “class war”.
Our argument was that a 50th anniversary event should celebrate what made the school we loved noteworthy. Damian Lewis is a fine actor and – according to the many people who possess tweeted or blogged about this – a very nice man. He was,however, educated at an exclusive prep school and then Eton, or which now charges about £35000 in fees a year. As such,he was an incongruous choice to celebrate a diverse and politically engaged local comprehensive.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com