BGS Year 8 pupils took part in the school’s annual cross-curricular day, with this year’s day focusing on an increasingly important theme: understanding how data can be used — and misused — to shape stories and influence opinions.
The annual event changes focus each year, and this time pupils explored how statistics and information can be presented to support particular narratives, while learning how to question data critically and draw their own conclusions.
The day is designed to help pupils build confidence in understanding data, most importantly, giving pupils insight and confidence to question information critically and think for themselves. In an ever-changing world where information can be misrepresented or altered, the aim was to support pupils develop a deeper understanding of how data can be manipulated to push certain narratives. The format of the day also supports the development of teamwork, communication and presentation skills.
Working in teams of four, with a total of 36 teams taking part, pupils were tasked to create presentations for the DataFace competition, where they were challenged to uncover a story within a dataset they have already been given and present their findings in a visually engaging way.
Preparation for the event took place over the past half-term across a range of subjects, for example in computer science BGS pupils learnt about spreadsheets and the reliability of data, in drama sessions pupils practiced their presentation skills and in art, students explored creative ways of visually representing information.
On Cross Curricular day, pupils spend their time developing presentations, supported by a series of sessions led by staff, parents and carers designed to enrich their understanding of data and its real-world applications. The event culminated in the BGS Great Hall, where each team showcased their visual presentations and judges viewed the projects ahead of prize giving. Well done to all involved!
