Mr Gardner (Senior Deputy Head – Teaching and Learning)

Over the past four weeks students in Year 9 have been working in project teams during form time to develop and present solutions to help solve real-world problems in response to the central question How will you design a product that makes the world a better place?.

The project was introduced to the students by our High Performance Learning (HPL) lead teachers Miss Greig, Mrs Howe, Ms March, Miss Perri. They shared examples of unique ideas from across the globe including stairs which play musical notes to encourage people to exercise, toilet rolls which do not require cardboard tubes to help limit waste, and a phone application which enables people with impaired vision to better understand the physical environment around them.

Using these ideas to spark their creativity, the students spent the next three weeks designing their products or services and presenting them to each other in order to narrow down the best ideas ready for the Dragons' Den. On the final day of the project, our HPL Leads assumed the role of the Dragons as the five finalist groups presented their ideas to the rest of the year group. Miss Higginson acted as compere as each group delivered their pitch before responding to questions from the Dragons.

The competition was fierce and the Dragons had a very difficult job on their hands reaching a decision about who should be crowned the overall winner. After a period of negotiation, the Dragons were pleased to announce that the winners of the Year 9 project 2021 were: Eloise Jones, Madeleine Knowlden, Morgan Forbes, Sarah Mahrez, Isabelle Cochrane for their phone application designed to combat knife crime.

Miss Higginson said: “I was extremely impressed by the way the Year 9 students worked collaboratively together in their assigned groups. They took to the project with a real optimism and produced some phenomenal pitches in the cluster rounds. It was great to see the cluster finalists present in front of their peers in the finale! I was so proud of the way they developed their team work skills, learnt a lot about themselves along the way and reflected on their contribution to their project. They worked as a team to showcase their individual and group talents and knowledge. The project optimised the adaptability, optimism and maturity the Year 9 students have shown to all challenges they have overcome this year.”