South Hampstead High problem-solvers on BBC Radio 4

South Hampstead High School pupils in Year 9 have taken part in a project called Fixperts this year as part of their Design & Technology lessons – a learning programme that challenges young people to use their imagination and practical skills to create solutions to everyday problems for a real person.

The project has been a departure from their normal way of working, with girls playing the part of a professional designer by speaking to a real client, identifying their needs, and using their feedback throughout the project to produce a design solution, which they then gift to their clients – a 21st century mix of innovation, technical skills and social values.

South Hampstead is one of the first schools to take on the Fixperts challenge, which is usually only run in universities. As such, DT Teacher Miss Young has collaborated with Fixperts to create a case study of the pupils’ work, alongside developing workshops, activities and teacher training for schools.

This new programme, called Fixperts for Schools, was recently awarded runner up in the Design Education Initiative Award at the Core77 Design Awards 2018.

BBC Radio 4 recently came to school to interview Miss Young and the pupils about their experiences for a show called ‘How do our kids beat the robots?’, which discusses how children are being prepared for an increasingly digital and unknown future.

The girls spoke about the life skills they have developed, such as communication and collaboration, innovative thinking, resilience and agility. 

Listen to the programme on BBC iPlayer.