News
On Wednesday evening, the Large was filled with a sense of excitement, potential and innovation as eleven teams of brave pupils presented their ideas to improve school life. It was the culmination of two months of hard work as each House responded to Mrs Sanchez’s call for a Big Idea – an innovative inter-house competition designed to encourage pupils to develop an idea to improve school life with a £2000 budget. Each House had four minutes to pitch their ideas before skillfully answering challenging questions from our Dragons – Mrs Sanchez, Mrs Belotti, Old Millhillians Ben Corrigan and Paula Sanchez, and parent Simon Binns.
In order to develop their ideas, each team followed the five stages of design thinking – identifying the problem, empathising with the user, ideating the solutions, prototyping and testing. As teams worked together in their houses to develop their concepts, they were supported through a mix of workshop sessions, online resources, and 1-1 consultations with Ms Bahoshy.
The resulting ideas demonstrated the creativity and passion of the pupils – from a pupil radio programme and improved access to drinking water, to stress busting festivals and nature walks in the grounds. After much deliberation, the Dragons were able to decide on the winning team. A warm congratulations to Burton Bank, whose pitch for a Wellbeing Garden clearly articulated the need, plan and future of a natural space designed to help pupils and staff re-connect with our beautiful grounds. Although only one team walked away with a £2000 cheque, the rest were reassured that their ideas and needs were heard with Mrs Sanchez parting words confirming a commitment to address several of the issues raised through the presentations.
Well done to all the teams who took part, and we look forward to inviting you all to the opening of the Wellbeing Garden next year.
