THE EMMA WATSON GALLERY at Headington School
In September 2021, we were delighted to open our Creativity & Innovation Centre: The Hive. The Hive is a hub for cross-curricular learning with an emphasis on sustainability, technology and enterprise and is home to Art, Fashion Textiles and Creative Engineering Design.
The incredible facilities include a large Exhibition Gallery, allowing us to showcase our pupils’ work as well as attracting outside artists, practitioners and community groups to enrich Headington pupils’ learning experience. As a talented artist at Headington and following Emma’s continued passion for art, eco fashion and sustainability, Emma Watson is honoured that The Hive Gallery has been named after her, and we feel this is a fitting way to recognise Emma’s many achievements since leaving Headington in 2008.
Emma Watson (2008)
When Emma Watson joined the Upper Four in September 2003, she was already filming Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. She was keen to minimise the disruption to her education and Headington provided a supportive environment; Emma’s subsequent outstanding academic achievements speak for themselves. During her time at Headington, Emma embraced extra-curricular life and after leaving, she divided her time between working on films and continuing her education.
As an activist and philanthropist, Emma has gone on to support more than thirty organisations in the equality and women and girls' rights movements in the UK and globally. Since graduating from Brown University, Emma has been appointed a UN Women Goodwill ambassador, helped launch the UN Women campaign HeForShe, played a key role in the launch of the TIME'S UP movement, and helped establish a new UK Justice and Equality Fund. And in 2019, she was appointed to a G7 advisory body for women’s rights by President Macron and more recently, from 2016 to 2020, Emma helmed a feminist book club entitled ‘Our Shared Shelf’.
Emma is also a respected advocate for sustainable fashion. For the 2017 press tour of Beauty and the Beast, she curated a fully ethical wardrobe and documented brands and suppliers on a bespoke Instagram account to raise awareness of sustainable consumption. In 2018, she guest-edited Australian Vogue’s first-ever sustainability issue, and in 2020 she joined the board of Kering, the luxury brand group as an advisor on sustainability.
In recognition of her work in sustainability, Emma was asked to present an award at the first-ever Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony in 2021 at the iconic Alexandra Palace in London. Launched by Prince William and The Royal Foundation in October 2020, The Earthshot Prize is the most prestigious global environment prize in history (£1million), centred around five ‘Earthshots’ – simple but ambitious goals for our planet which, if achieved by 2030, will improve life for us all, for generations to come.
Sir David Attenborough spoke about the importance of this initiative and his optimism in our ability to rise to the greatest environmental challenges of our time. Emma presented the Fix Our Climate Award, which went to Thailand-based company AEM Electrolyser for its green hydrogen technology.
Emma is known to be outspoken on environmental issues and a keen champion of sustainable fashion. At the Awards Ceremony, she opted for an upcycled look in a voluminous white tulle gown, created using second hand bridal dresses from Oxfam, which she teamed with flared trousers.
We hope that future generations of Headingtonians will be inspired to follow in Emma Watson’s footsteps and look forward to welcoming back all Headingtonians to see The Gallery.