The Big Why: What is Success, and Who Decides?

Recently, Gilbert Ward pupils took part in an exciting hands-on challenge as part of their Discover curriculum, exploring the Big Why question: 'what is success, and who decides'?

To bring this question to life, the pupils worked in teams to complete a cooking challenge.  However, they were in charge of defining what success looked like. Each group began by choosing what they wanted to make. This led to a variety of creative outcomes:
One group chose to make delicious waffles, focusing on achieving the perfect texture and sweetness. Another group decided on breakfast baguettes, carefully selecting fillings and considering flavour combinations.

Before they started cooking, the pupils agreed on a shared set of success criteria. They discussed what their finished product should look like, how it should taste, how well their team worked together and how effectively they managed their time. This helped pupils understand that success is often judged against criteria, but importantly, those criteria are created by people.

Once the dishes were complete, they tasted each other’s creations and used their agreed criteria to give feedback and scores. This sparked thoughtful discussions about whether everyone agreed on what tasted best, was presentation more important than flavour and
could different groups be successful in different ways?

Through this challenge, the pupils discovered that success can look different to different people, it depends on the goals and values they choose, people play a key role in deciding what success is. By taking ownership of their learning, learners not only developed practical skills but also deepened their understanding of an important life question.

Everyone is incredibly proud of the teamwork, creativity and thoughtful discussions shown throughout this activity. Well done to all the budding chefs.