Ducat:

On Thursday 30 January every Ducat student in Upper IV, Lower IV and Upper III was off timetable all day to create a business idea to help elderly people in France and Germany.

After a quick briefing they were given instructions on the steps needed to start a business by the Economics and Business departments, how to set up a spreadsheet and use it to map income and expenditure by the Maths department, the specific cultural concerns in France and Germany by MFL, and the ethical problems involved in attempting to help others by PaT.

For the rest of the day, the students were working in mixed year groups to plan and produce their companies. Staff were hugely impressed by the creativity, rigour and teamwork with which they tackled the tasks.

Aniya, Upper III, wrote that:

‘Curiosity day was one to remember for a very long time. We were assigned teams across different year groups. I loved working with new people and hearing their ideas. Our group designed an app to help elderly people in France and Germany to find friends locally. We created a mascot, a video advert and posters to bring our app to life. Everyone had different and unique skills to bring to the group. Creativity, collaboration, communication and determination were just some of the skills used.

‘When all our hard work was done, we were excited to share our wonderful ideas and present it at the Curiosity Fair! Overall, I absolutely loved Curiosity Day, and I am extremely grateful to have experienced it!’

Carrington:

On Thursday 30 January every Carrington student in Upper IV, Lower IV and Upper III was off timetable all day to create a new planet to support humanity after the adversity caused by climate change.

After a quick briefing they were given information on the placement of the planet by the Physics department, on which elements need to be present to support life by the Chemistry department, how they might stop climate change reoccurring by the Geography department, how to use machines and Artificial Intelligence to make the planet more efficient by the Computer Science department, and on how food can be grown most efficiently by the Food and Nutrition department.

For the rest of the day, the students were working in mixed year groups to plan and produce their planets. Staff were hugely impressed by the focus, creativity and practicality with which the teams approached the task.

Kyra, Upper III, wrote:

‘It was my first time doing this, so I didn’t really know what would happen, but I ended up really enjoying myself. I liked how we worked with different people for the whole day, and how we presented to people across the whole school, even the Junior School.

‘I think it was a really good experience to learn how to work with people you don’t know. I also liked how each house had a different task. I can’t wait to do it again next year!’

Kensington:

On Thursday 30 January every Kensington student in Upper IV, Lower IV and Upper III was off timetable all day to create a space or institute for people to visit to recover from adversity using stories and music.

After a quick briefing they were given information on the different ways in which people have recovered from adversity in the past by the History department, on how spaces can be adapted to create different emotions by the Drama department, on how concepts of adversity, and responses to it, are different between cultures by the Mandarin and Spanish departments, and on which stories or pieces of music could be used by the English and Music departments.

For the rest of the day, the students were working in mixed year groups to plan and produce their institutes. Staff were hugely impressed by the students’ openness to new ideas, teamwork, and, above all, their ability to bring the different interests of the group together in one unified design.

Aadya, Upper III, wrote:

‘The Curiosity week project was extremely successful in my opinion. This was my first year, but it was so fun! My team was full of LIV and UIV which was slightly awkward at first but everyone warmed up quickly and we worked quite harmoniously. Everyone did their own part but we discussed the ideas together and created a beautiful project.’

Paget:

On Thursday 30 January every Paget student in Upper IV, Lower IV and Upper III was off timetable all day to design a United Nations initiative to promote their Sustainable Development Goal to reduce inactivity and improve people’s lifestyles.

After a quick briefing they were given information on what elements a plan needed, and how it should be structured, by the Politics department, on how most effectively to persuade people to be more active by the Psychology department, on which areas of the world’s population to target by the Biology department, on which activities were likely to be most effective by the PE department, and on how activity has been approached differently across time by the Classics department.

For the rest of the day, the students were working in mixed year groups to plan and produce their institutes. Staff were hugely impressed by the students’ open-minded approach to a global challenge, their invention in developing new ideas and how well they worked together as teams.

Sophia, Upper III, wrote:

‘As an UIII, this was my first Cross-Curricular project, so I had no clue what to expect. We met our teams, were given our prompt and told to start! I really enjoyed the feeling of productivity and success that the day gave me, especially when we unofficially presented our ideas to some of the teachers. We worked really well as a team, dividing tasks quickly and without bickering, and we were able to design a website, posters and a video before the end of the day. All the teachers were super kind and helpful, especially Mr Dalton and Mrs Sutcliffe (thank you, both!), who gave me some important ideas that improved our work considerably. I really enjoyed Curiosity Week and the Cross-Curricular project day – can’t wait for next year!’