On Wednesday 21st January the Quest Academy played host to a group of over 50 pupils from Quest, Woodside Primary and our neighbours Gilbert Scott Primary. The students were selected from each school specially to take part in a programme of activities designed to boost their resilience. In this particular gathering, pupils focussed on activities that cultivated teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills.

First up was the icebreaker activity which had pupils mixing across schools and getting to know each other through a series of introductory questions. By the time this was over, pupils were well mixed and ready to form inter-school groups for the second activity: toilet roll brides! Pupils put their creativity skills to the test as they designed a bridal dress and then built it using nothing more than one roll of toilet paper. The resplendent brides were then paraded in a toilet-paper pageant to much applause. The final activity tested pupils mechanics skills as they sought to build the tallest spaghetti and marshmallow tower with limited resources and only 10 minutes to design and execute. Needless to say, the temptation to jeopardise the building materials by eating them was quite strong!

The universal impression from both pupils and teachers was that the event was a great success and all three groups of pupils and teachers parted with huge smiles on their faces, already anticipating the next meeting. Special thanks go to Mr. Treadwell, Miss D’Mello, Miss Hollands and Mr. Braunstein for their effort in putting together and facilitating the day.

Maksim Mijovic