On Wednesday 15 November all the Upper IIIs, Lower IVs and Upper IVs presented their work from the previous week’s Learning Festivals to an audience of Upper VI and Lower III students, plus many teachers who were curious to see what their students had been able to create.

The students had been given just one day to complete different cross-curricular challenges to create ‘change’. Upper IIIs designed a space station on a planet of their choice, thinking about the physical and social problems of living in a different environment. Lower IVs campaigned for Reading to become a city and considered both how we could transform it for the better, and how these changes reflect the past. The Upper IVs took old stories from other languages and reformed them into new media for the 21st century.

The Upper III, Lower IV and Upper IV students explained their ideas eloquently. The guests were hugely impressed by both the quality of the outcomes and the careful cross-curricular thought which had generated them. It was amazing how much the students had managed to achieve in a day.

The Learning Festivals were designed to be an active day of learning which showed students how their subjects could work together. We’re so proud of how they tackled the challenges, and the independence, joy and creativity they showed throughout the day.

The Upper III, Lower IV and Upper IV students deserve to feel hugely proud of their achievements. One comment which came again and again from the adult visitors was that the groups had worked exceptionally well together to produce far more than they could have as individuals.