The Year 6 Great Exhibition
For the ten weeks after the 11+ examination process, Year 6 work on a project of their own choosing which is centred on one of the UN Global goals.
They work exceptionally hard on their extended projects surrounding issues and challenges in the world today. Over the course of an evening for parents and grandparents and then the subsequent day for the rest of the boys in the school the Year 6 hold their 'Great Exhibition'. During the ten weeks, made up of five two week small projects, they had to come up with their question, look at the issue from different perspectives, ‘synthesise’ the information, come up with solutions and take an action (e.g. letters, petitions, raising money). The boys' work was thoughtfully produced, insightful and showed what caring and passionate individuals they all are. They spoke engagingly about their research and held their own under challenging questions from pupils and parents alike. Their projects are a true reflection of deep, meaningful learning and a brilliant summation of how far they have come as thinkers and learners in the Junior School.
Examples of some of the topics included:
- Sexism in Sport
- Hyperinflation and recession
- The effects of Fast Fashion
- Coral Bleaching
- Racism in the Workplace
- Tiger Poaching
- The causes of knife crime
"I have really enjoyed the extended project and it’s been a great addition to our normal schoolwork. During the ten weeks I have learnt loads and improved my presentation, decision-making, perseverance, and independence skills. I chose coral bleaching for my topic as I am really interested in the environment and this was an opportunity for me to find out about something I didn't know much about. After beginning my initial research, I was surprised how severe the issue was and that people weren't talking about this frequently in public. I was shocked to hear about the critical situation corals were in, and I decided to make it my duty to raise awareness. For my first lens, I chose 'function': how the issue works, and I decided to present my findings in a PowerPoint. For my second lens, I chose 'perspective' and I looked at different points of view on the topic. I presented my conclusions in a newspaper article. For my third lens I chose 'responsibility' and I created a bright and bold poster.
Finally, I needed to decide on an action. I must admit that I chose one of the most unoriginal ways to do this: a cake sale! I will give 100% of the money to a charity called ‘The Ocean Foundation', which helps marine conservation. In my opinion it’s a great way to raise awareness with both adults and kids". Kiran"I really enjoyed the whole project experience and I would happily do it again if we could! When we were asked to choose an issue or a challenge in the world today as our project focus, I immediately knew what I wanted to do: racism and sexism in sport. The main reason that I chose to do this is because I love sports and I know loads about it, but I have been surprised by how many things I have found out about racism and sexism in sports since I started my project 10 weeks ago. After we had collected some facts about our chosen topic in a flipbook, we were give our project folders and introduced to some new vocabulary: lens and synthesis. Lens means part of a whole, or looking at things from a different angle. Every two weeks we had to choose a lens to examine our project from, come up with four questions and carry out some research. To represent our findings, we had to synthesise our information. This means we had to decide our opinions on the issue and present what we had found. I chose to do a poster, an essay and a PowerPoint for my three lenses, but there were loads more ideas. Lastly, we had to decide what action we were going to take to raise awareness of our issue and help to put a stop to it. I chose to give a speech to younger kids to tell them about discrimination in sport and how prevent it from happening. I am also going to sell wristbands that say: “SAY NO TO RACISM” and “SAY NO TO SEXISM”, to raise awareness of this issue. I definitely think this is an experience that I will take with me beyond the Junior School". Sam
