The Mall Balloon Debate Returns

Every Spring Term, the school’s assembly series takes on a new guise: a balloon debate. The hot air balloon carries 8 influential people, either historical or current, where pupils learn and understand the importance of their legacy. Supported by Year 6, pupils from the school’s debate club help introduce a new figure each week, discussing the pros and cons of the individual’s lifetime work.  Losing altitude, children from reception class upwards eventually vote to see who needs to leave the balloon to allow it to climb once again.

The skills the children acquire during the project are enormous – reasoning, listening, forming and argument, empathy, public speaking, historical and general knowledge, STEM, and democracy to name but a few. The list is endless.

Week 1 – Banksy

Following a surprise visit from his ‘spray snow cousin’ prior to Christmas, we have started this year’s debate with Banksy – discussing how art is perceived in the modern world, how social change can be encouraged through art, alongside the ethics of graffiti and vandalism.

When asked should Banksy remain in the balloon, a year 2 pupil’s response was: “No, because if he was on the ground, he would be able to create more art!”.

Week 2 – Isambard Kingdom Brunel

This week’s discussion was based around the life and work of one of our most famous inventors, engineers and architects: Brunel. We heard from pupils in the debate club about his passion for maths at young age, his love for building and for trying to fix problems. Pupils were amazed to discover that prior to his Great Western Railway, Swindon had a slightly different time zone than London! The trainline helped to synchronise the clocks in the UK.

Following an informative and persuasive pitch from our debaters, we had a fascinating discussion with many pupils feeling that if it wasn’t Brunel, someone else would have invented the boats and bridges themselves, and perhaps the inventors of DNA or the internet have had a greater impact on the world. We discussed the idea of time and technology in history and how it would have had the impact on society that the internet has had on us today.

The plot continues and we now have two influential people in our balloon. Mr Gosden frequently talks about the male-female divide in history so let’s hope for an influential woman next Friday.

Week 3 – Dame Sarah Story

Thank you to Mr Davies from Halliford School, who came to take this week’s balloon debate, introducing a family friend of his, Dame Sarah Storey, who is the UK’s most decorated Paralympian. Mr Davies recounted her life story of being told she can’t do something due to her disability and how she overcame negativity and ignorance to be highly successful, and promote the subsequent impression she has made on generations of young athletes to not let their disabilities define them.  

Mr Davies delivered the assembly with humour, charm and a rare connection with prep children that left everyone smiling… and certainly Sarah Storey appears to now be in the lead!