A WORLD renowned peace activist visited Sidcot School to share her experience of restorative justice with the IRA as part of the school's 'Let Your Life Speak' programme.

Jo Berry, daughter of MP Sir Anthony Berry, who was killed in the IRA bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton in 1984, visited the school to share her experience of restorative justice with the man responsible for her father’s death.

Ms Berry was invited to speak at the school on November 23 as part of its ‘Let Your Life Speak’ programme which provides a platform for a speakers to create better understanding and challenge conventional perceptions among its students and members of the public.

Jo, who is the founder of the charity ‘Building Bridges for Peace', made a personal decision just two days after the bombing to try to bring something positive out of the trauma and to try to understand those who were responsible for her father’s death.

She said:“The hardest bridge to build was with Patrick Magee, who was sentenced for his part in planting the Brighton bomb and released as part of the Good Friday Peace Agreement in 1999.

"When we met he shared his political views but then something changed, it was as if he had taken off his political hat and had now opened up and became vulnerable.

"The conversation was very different after that and a new journey started, one which we are still on.”

Since their meeting Jo and Patrick have started a journey together speaking in prisons, schools, universities, and international peace conferences, demonstrating their ability to understand each other’s humanity, dignity and respect.

Sidcot School is the first in the UK to appoint a Director of Peace and Global Studies, Miriam Gosling, who explained the importance of the ‘Let your Life Speak’ seminars and the value of peace education at the school.

She said:“Let Your Life Speak is a Quaker value simply meaning ‘let values guide you’ and with this series of talks we are putting this value into practice, enabling our students to learn about something far greater than themselves.

"Our speakers are remarkable people, making a real difference in the world and it’s important for students to be humbled and inspired by these stories and to learn that they too can achieve anything.

“What Jo has shown us is that anything is possible and an important message for our students today is that life doesn’t always go as planned.

"As per the ‘butterfly effect’, the concept that small causes can have large effects, our students are being shown that any actions they take have the greatest impact on the world and that’s what being a change maker is all about.”