Section 28: In and Outside the School Gates - LGBTQ+ History Month 2026

To celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month 2026, join us at the TACO! gallery in Cygnet Square for a talk by historian Syeda Ali on the history and legacy of Section 28, the policy that prohibited the "promotion of homosexuality" in UK schools from 1988 until its repeal in 2003.

Spaces are limited, so please register to download your ticket and secure your place!

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Section 28 is often remembered as a time of fear and silence — when growing up or teaching in schools could feel hostile, constrained, or simply devoid of queer lives. For many LGBTQ+ people, it remains a powerful and painful memory of living under state-sanctioned homophobia.

Drawing on oral history interviews with teachers and former pupils, this talk looks at what everyday school life was actually like during the Section 28 years. It examines the harms the law caused, while also tracing how LGBTQ+ young people navigated growing up in a wider homophobic culture — often finding recognition, identity, and belonging beyond the school gates rather than within them.

The talk also explores how Section 28 has come to stand as a symbol for an entire era, and how its memory often merges with broader cultural attitudes that shaped schools long before and long after the law itself. By bringing lived experience, memory, and history into conversation, the talk reflects on what remembering Section 28 can teach us today — about education, community, and the ongoing politics of 'protecting children'.

About the speaker:

Syeda Ali recently completed her PhD in History at the University of Cambridge, where her research explored the impact of Section 28 on schools in England. Her work looks at how education policy was experienced in everyday school life during the 1980s and 1990s, with a particular focus on gender and sexuality. Central to her research are oral history interviews with teachers, whose voices help bring this period to life within its wider cultural and social context.

A former teacher, Syeda began her teaching career locally in Thamesmead during the era of Section 28 and is delighted to be returning to speak about her research, as part of LGBTQ+ History Month.

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Timings:

Doors at TACO! will open at 5:30pm. There will be time before the talk to explore the space and the café / bar will be open for refreshments.

The talk will begin at 6:30pm and run until 8:00pm including a chance to ask questions at the end. TACO! will then be open until 9:00pm.

This event is:

• Pay-what-you-can, with the option of free entry and no one turned away for lack of funds
• Open and inclusive to anyone interested, regardless of whether or not you identify as LGBTQIA+ - allies, friends and family are more than welcome!