Being Brit-ish

Welcome to St John’s Blog investigating what it means to be British in today’s Multi-cultural Britain.

We are a group of Y6 and Y7 pupils who have spent a day sharing our ideas about what being British means to us. We also explored the BritKid.org website to inform our ideas further. We shared ours ideas at the start of the day, then again at the end. Here are some of our findings.

Sophie, Toni and Callum – John

Hi, I am British.

My name is John and I live in Newcastle with my little sister, mum and dad. I don’t speak any other languages apart from English in a Geordie accent. See if you can figure this out:

  ‘Ah divn’t nah where your ganzie’s gone hinny, mebbe it’s on your bairn’s bogie’.

Some of the words we use are different from standard English.

Only last week, when I was getting off the bus and there was this gang of black kids, they were talking about what they were going to do to little white boys. This made me feel sad, different and scared.

I eat alot of Italian food and my dad’s kebabs are absolutely delicious!

I am an Atheist which means I don’t believe in religion or God. I never go to church and neither do my parents. You know if you have done something wrong because it makes you feel bad inside.

My dad works for a French company, making drugs for hospitals and he works with lots of British people who come from lots of different countries. He likes working with immigrants from lots of different countries.

There is so much for me to tell you but I will tell you more later as I have run out of time!

Sophie Ethan-Megan

Hi, I am British and my name is Megan. I live in Cardiff, Wales with my dad and my nan. We had to move schools to live with my nan. At my old school I was bullied because I am Welsh and people took the ‘mickey’ out of me. I am much happier in my new school.

When I was 9 years old there was a car crash and my mum got hurt so she lives in hospital.  My dad was born in Cardiff and he is Black which suprises people! The best thing about being Welsh is that I can speak to my my nan in Welsh. My mother always used to speak to me and my brother in Welsh so we have learnt a lot in a little time and I can also make out street signs. My brother plays rugby.Sorry I’ve rUn out of time. There is so much i could tell you.

Katie,Caitlyn,Alex and Kelan-Tzu Lee.

Hi, I’m British and I’m called Tzu Lee,

I can speak Chinese but it’s very hard!! I am a Buddhist. I normally eat stir fry but I also eat English food. I also use chopsticks most of the time.My grandma owned a restaurant in England.

My grandma wants me to be a lawyer when I grow up. My grandma came over from Hong Kong in 1958,  so I was born over here. I want to be a model but there are loads of Chinese girls already doing it. All my friends are really smart because they are very hard working. I have a lot of friends. We are all in one gang. Their names are: John, Megan, Nat, Taz, David, Bal, Anand and Dani. My favourite is Bal because she is brilliant but I think Nat is gorgeous, so hands off!!!

One time I lost my mobile phone  and I had to call from a phone box when these blokes came and jammed me inside so I couldn’t get out. I was dead scared. There’s so much more I want to tell you but I have run out of time.

Megan, Stephanie and Ian -Nat

Brit kid - Nat

Hi I am  British.

I am a Rastafarian  I believe in the black God ( Ras Tafari ) and in the 1930’s  he was crowned king and emperor of Ethiopia . I live with my mum  and grandma , who came to Southhampton from St Vincent an Island in the Caribbean to get a better job. I talk to her in Caribbean slang (Patois)  I sometimes speak to her in English. My favorite food is Chinese but I am supposed to be Vegetarian. There is one tradition I do follow; I don’t eat pork. 

 I have a best mate called John, who I have been best friends with for ages. If I want to find out about the latest football matches Megan is the one to talk to.  Taz is straight up and is dead smart. David is the one to talk to about homework. Some things really get to Anand. Bal is my girlfriend, Tzu Lee’s, best mate.

Well bye, I’ve ran out of time see you later!

Fergus, Charlotte and Aimee- Megan

Hi I’m British. My name is Megan and I live with my dad because my mum and dad had a bad car accident when I was nine. After that I stayed with my grandmother but now my dad is better and I live with him. Sadly, my mum is still in hospital. I am very sad about this.

My dad’s name is Daniel and he originates from Cardiff, Wales. My grandfather was an African seaman. He sailed to Cardiff in 1918 where he decided to stay and marry a local woman who is my grandma.

I enjoy playing with my mates- John, Nat, Taz, David, Bal, Anand, Dani and Tzu Lee. In my family we like to eat meats and stews. Sorry got to go!!!

 BYE

Paul, Aaron and kayde-Anand

Hi, I’m British. My name is Anand and I live in Britchester. My religion is Hinduism. My dad is from Baroda and came here from Gujareta, in India. Many people where my parents come from began to emigrate 30 years ago. We were from a poor part of India before we came to England to live.

My dad is also a Computer Engineer. Because of my religion me and my family are not able to eat beef, eggs (eggs on a tuesday) or drink alcohol.

In my house, we worship at a shrine and at the temple the priest speaks Gujareta. We celebrate Diwalhi by giving out presents and doing loads of dancing for a long time. I think there are less insults on white people than black so it’s very annoying that I get bullied alot at school because of racism. People sometimes call me very bad names.

I am in a gang with; John, Megan, Nat, Taz, David, Bal, Dant and Tzu lee! They stick up for me if people are being racist.

There’s more for me to write but I’ve run out of time. Sorry but i can finish it another time!!

Harry, Micka and Jack-Balavinder

Hello, I’m British. My name is Balavinder Kaur and I am a Sikh.

I live with my Mum and two brothers but unfortunately my father died of a heart attack when I was six years old. I live in England but come from a small town in the Punjab, India. My native language is Punjabi but the majority of the time I speak English apart from when we are speaking about family and personal matters at home.

My mum has been living in England for about 38 years now, she came over in 1970 to marry my father.

As I said, I’m a Sikh and I am not allowed to drink alcohol or eat beef, but some Sikhs choose to be totally vegetarian. Also, we are not allowed to smoke.

Once at school, I saw another older Sikh girl had cut her hair and I thought it looked quite nice so I decided to cut my hair even though it is against my religion. My Mum was very cross with me when she found out as she feels very strongly about her religion.

I really enjoy my life in England and I have lots of friends who all respect me and my religion. I enjoy sports like playing and talking about football.

There is so much more for me to tell you but I have run out of time. Bye!

Caitlin,Hannah,Taylor-Tzu Lee

Hi I’m British, and my name is Tzu Lee. My nickname is Soozie. I was born in China but I am a British kid. I live with my family and my Grandmother in Britain.    

My Grandma and Grandad lived in Hong Kong before they came to Britain in 1958; they moved to Britain because they wanted better opportunities for work. Grandad works in a big restaurant and Grandma works in a Chemist. She wants me to be a lawyer when I get older.

I use chopsticks most of the time. (I dont know why others don’t use them, they’re so fun!) I mostly eat home made Chinese food such as rice, Chicken Chow Mein ect. There are always lots of dishes on the table because we have big meals.

Sorry I ran out of time, talk later.