Women’s Education November 2019
Debate Mate Launch: Tuesday 5th November 2019
Bow School is really excited to see the return of Debate Mate. Debate Mate is an educational organisation that recruits inspiring university students to run Debate Clubs in schools across the UK. It empowers school students to run their own Clubs and engage with the issues that affect their lives. It helps them to develop the skills and confidence they need to succeed. Debate Mate teaches speaking and listening skills, critical and creative thinking, team work and leadership whilst also developing core confidence, resilience and empathy in students of all ages and abilities.
The start of our Debate Mate journey began when 30 students from Y7, Y8, Y9 and Y10 attended the Debate Mate launch on Tuesday 5th November 2019. Students watched expert/champion debaters debate on whether the vote should be lowered to include 16 and 17 year olds, with the proposition and opposition sides battling it out.
The House voted for 16 & 17-year olds NOT TO HAVE the right to vote.
If you are a parent or a guardian, please encourage your child to sign up to the Debate Mate Club. For students who enrol on the programme, Debate Mate aims to:
- Develop communication, higher order and critical thinking, leadership and teamwork skills
- Build confidence and self-esteem
- Engage young people with the world beyond the classroom, addressing issues that affect them, their communities and the wider world through an activity they enjoy
- Foster sustainable Debating Clubs in schools, empower young people to run their own Debating Clubs and pass on the skills they have learnt to their peers
- Raise students’ aspirations and expectations through sustained contact with successful university students
- Increase academic achievement
Debate Mate Continued…
Excitement was in the air on Wednesday 13th November 2019 as Debate Mate returned to Bow School. We are extremely proud of all students who attended and began their Debate Mate journey.
Rocking Your Teens - International Men’s Day: Tuesday 19th November 2019
International Men’s Day (IMD) is a global day of observance held on 19th November each year. The day is celebrated around the world in at least 60 countries and invites every man, woman, girl and boy in the world to come together to celebrate men and boys in all their diversity. Marking the day is important as it:
- Highlights some serious issues affecting men and boys and their wellbeing
- Makes a difference to the lives of men and boys
- Celebrates Britain’s men and boys in all their diversity
Y9 students attended the annual Rocking Your Teens International Men’s Day Conference at Thomson Reuters in Canary Wharf. The focus of the Conference was to support teen boys in a safe, fun and informative environment to learn, share and grow, whilst providing them with effective tools to help them to successfully navigate their teen years.
The day was energetic and interactive. Students heard from the following keynote speakers: Cameron Parker (Motivational Speaker), Andrew Hulbert (Entrepreneur), Ragz-CV (Spoken Word Artist) and Andrew Odong (Pesa Productions) who all shared life experiences and inspiring messages with 150 boys aged 13-14.
Alongside speed mentoring and energising networking games, there were a number of extremely powerful and poignant conversations around mental health, vulnerability and fear, the expectations and the challenges for boys and men. The day ended with boys leaving feeling empowered to be the best they can be, able to speak about their feelings.
Girls Active - Stepping up for Change (Leadership, Coaching & Volunteering Event):
Friday 15th November 2019
Ms Rahman & Miss Mohamud
The Chief Medical Officers (CMO) recommend that all children and young people should engage in moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity for at least 60 minutes and up to several hours every day.
Did you know?
- By aged 7 girls are already less active than boys and this disparity widens as they move from childhood into adolescence
- Secondary-aged girls are more likely to experience barriers to participation than boys
- The biggest drop-off occurs during the transition from primary to secondary school, with disruption to friendship groups and declining body confidence affecting girl’s participation in PE and sport.
Y7 and Y8 were invited to the Youth Sports Trust Girls Active: Stepping up for Change Leadership event at Oaklands School on Friday 15th November. This initiative supports primary and secondary schools to understand what motivates girls to take part in physical activity and helps to make the necessary changes to their physical education (PE), sport and physical activity provision. A key focus of the programme is to support girls during the transition phase from primary to secondary school as that time sees the greatest decline in their participation.
Inline skating champion Jenna Downing (2008 LG Action Sports World Champion; 10 x British Champion and X-Games silver medallist 2002 - all by the age of 21) welcomed the girls and spoke to them about how important physical activity was, and is, to achieving your dreams. Jenna has competed in rollerblading events since the age of 8 and has amassed a lifetime of awards competing across the globe in televised and major international events. After turning pro at the age of 12 (making Jenna the youngest female skater in the world to ever turn pro) there was no stopping her, and Jenna has gone on to become an institution in British rollerblading.
The girls worked with each other, the team at the Youth Sports Trust and other schools exploring strategies that they could put into place that would empower girls to influence PE, sport and physical activity in their own school, increase their own and others participation, develop as role models and ‘sell’ PE, sport and physical activity to other girls. The girls will now put their learning and hard work into practice by recruiting more girls to take part in physical activities offered by the school, and by working with our feeder primary schools to ensure that all Y6 girls who join us have the confidence to continue to enjoy and participate in physical activity.
Model UN Training Session: Wednesday 20th November 2019
Y9 and Y8 students have embarked on their Model United Journey. Model United Nations (also Model UN or MUN) is an academic activity in which students assume the role of national ambassadors or representatives to debate and seek to solve global issues. Students are required to carry out substantial research, public speaking, debating and writing skills, as well as critical thinking, teamwork, and leadership abilities.
On Wednesday 20th November 2019 students travelled to The American School in London where they participated in a training session designed to support students understand the process of the Model UN and practice representing a country. Students learnt about how the United Nations was formed and what they do. They also learnt about GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and if/how it correlates with a country’s mortality rate. Students took part in an information session on the subject, i.e. Deforestation - the area that they have been assigned to discuss, debate and create resolutions for at the Conference in February.
The last part of the training session was a simulation of the Conference where they were introduced to the language and procedures of the United Nations.
We look forward to reading the position papers and watching the students prepare for the Conference.
IT Girls Allowed: Monday 25th November 2019
Programming, cryptography and innovation were on the agenda as Year 9 and Y8 students took part in the Barclays’ IT Girls Allowed event at Barclays’ Headquarters in Canary Wharf. The event is designed to demonstrate that IT careers are accessible to girls and to inspire girls to consider IT as a subject choice in the short term, and as a career choice in the long term.
The day started with a cryptology session, after a brief introduction and explanation of what cryptology is and why it is so important - especially in the digital age we live in. Students were set cryptology challenges - decoding messages using different ciphers.
The girls then moved on to the second activity of the day: Robotics. Using programming commands on a computer they controlled a robot - first using basic commands that would allow the robot to move, then in more complicated routes.
The last session, ‘Designing the Future’, empowered students to use their innovative strength to design an invention that could make a difference or change the world. They then had to pitch their invention to judges.
Ms Rahman
Adaptability, Respect, Curiosity & Determination