George Stephenson High School Dimensions Day
Tuesday the 29th of June was the third and final instalment of the highly successful George Stephenson Dimensions Days for Year 7 students.
The focus this year has been on global citizens, and as a Humanities Specialist School we think it is important to help our students learn about their role in a global society and the responsibilities that go with that.
Mrs. Troup, Curriculum Leader for Geography, organised the event and seven of our feeder primary schools were keen to be involved. Outlining the day Mrs Troup said, ‘The students have focused upon the issue of inequality in trade and become aware of how they can make a difference. It has challenged them to be creative and explore different views and feelings.’
Students addressed the issue by looking at Fair Trade and what we can do to help others less fortunate than ourselves.
The day began with an assembly from Kath Stephenson who has worked for the Fair Trade charity and has set up real Fair Trade projects, with schools and other countries in the past. This gave the students a real insight into the work of Fair Trade. The challenge then was for our students to teach students in our local primary schools about Fair Trade. Students designed presentations, movies, games and quizzes to make the experience as interactive and as fun as possible.
In the afternoon, the students travelled to either Amberley, Backworth, Bailey Green, Shiremoor, Holystone, Westmoor, or Moor Edge Primary Schools and led the entire session with students from Years 5 and 6.
The feedback from the Primary schools was extremely positive. Students from Westmoor said they ‘enjoyed learning about how other people live’ and they liked the activities ‘because they were fun’.
Mrs Steel, the children’s teacher from Westmoor, told us how much the primary students benefited from the activity: ‘It was challenging for the children when life 'events' meant their group suffered a stroke of bad luck, such as a poor harvest. Their crisis of "it's not fair" provoked a lot of discussion and the realisation that life can be harsh’.
Mrs Troup highlighted the importance of Dimensions Days: ‘The three days this year have allowed us to foster and reinforce an understanding of human values and attitudes which will inform and influence our students throughout their lives.’
All involved had an enjoyable, challenging and rewarding day and we look forward to developing enriched experiences for our students and continuing to work closely with our primary schools in the future.
