The day got off to a great start with lessons in the morning. The students’ engagement with their programmes so far has been fantastic, and despite a bit of stormy weather, some of the group still managed to find the time in between rainy spells and lessons to play a few games of badminton in the garden.

In the afternoon, all of the students received an informative masterclass from Dr Pragya Agarwal, an award winning educator, as well as a campaigner for women’s rights, equality and creativity. She has many years of experience running workshops and giving talks on the value of creative thinking and how it supports greater well-being in the classroom, workplace and beyond.

The session was very interactive and Dr Agarwal began by asking the students if they considered themselves ‘creative.’ It was interesting to see that so few of the students saw themselves within this category. After a few exercises targeted at making the students think outside the box, she then tasked them with an activity. They had to create a product or business pitch that tried to deal with a contemporary social issue. She asked the group, not to focus on the product itself, but on the process of forming their idea.

The students presented their pitches which included creative solutions to problems such as; obesity, climate change and one-use plastics. As they pitched, Dr Agarwal questioned them about their process, focusing specifically on their interaction and collaboration as teams.

Overall, the session was incredibly enlightening and it really allowed the students to think more deeply about different perspectives when approaching new challenges.