Head's Newsletter 14 July 2022

NATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY COMPETITION

ENGLISH SPEAKING

FINAL

On the 29th June, we attended the annual National Psychology Competition at Royal Holloway University of London. We were instructed to make and submit a video to answer the question “ How

can Psychology help us solve global and societal problems? ” and chose to tackle the issue of online radicalisation. We completed research and used our own knowledge to explain the mechanisms behind radicalisation and propose solutions based on psychological theories. On the day, we arrived with a poster to complement our video including an interactive text - based activity linked by QR code, which introduced three characters to the player and led them to through various rounds meant to to assess the characters' media literacy, social support and critical thinking to decide who was most likely to be radicalised. We presented their posters and discussed their topic with the judges. We were also able to see the other groups' posters and attend two lectures titled "Is reading a virus?" and “ Turning our brain into music and art: A case study using psychedelics ” by academics at the university. Unfortunately, we didn't win but really enjoyed the experience.

Sam Goldsmith in year 9 reached the final of the English Speaking Union's 'Performing Shakespeare' competition which took place at the Globe Theatre. Sam was ably supported by year 13 Ibrahim Ejaz who has been instrumental in preparing Sam for the competition. Sam chose a very challenging piece from 'The Merchant of Venice' and performed outstandingly in the final against some incredibly challenging competition. The day was brilliant with a tour of The Globe, witnessing a rehearsal in progress and participating in a workshop, in which Sam took a lead role. The whole day was fantastic, and Sam was an outstanding representation of the creativity that we have at Tiffin. Congratulations!!