Mrs Rogers' words Autumn week 12

Former Head Girl, Lauren, included many of our Year 12 students in her university research this week. She was looking at whether adolescents have the skills to spot fake and ‘fake-ish' news. Fake news is pervasive and damaging in multiple ways but we are more often confronted with ‘fake-ish' news, i.e. news items that are not intentionally false, but inaccurate, incomplete, and/or oversimplified (e.g. “Red wine is good for you” - which I intend to maintain over the festive period!). Her focus was to investigate how adolescents (16-18yrs) search for evidence on-line to assess the validity of these statements, and link their performance with a number of individual differences measures. She examined whether a short intervention could improve critical reading of headlines and I await the results of her research. Taking part in this study gave students an opportunity to be involved in university research, which is both useful for their personal statements and CVs .

Students have had the opportunity to engage in discussion on freedom of speech during PSHE and Mr Hawkins spoke to students in assembly today about the importance of expressing their views in a respectful and responsible way. As we know, Article 10 of the Human Rights Act protects your right to hold your own opinions and to express them freely without government interference. Although you have freedom of expression, you also have a duty to behave responsibly and to respect other people’s rights. During this festive season I am sure we will all show tolerance and respect for each other’s views and make it a happy and peaceful break as we reflect on the gift of Jesus.

I hope you have a great weekend.