News Year 10s Embrace the Power of Rethinking in New Innovation and Leadership Programme 14.11.2025

Since returning from half term, Year 10 students on the school’s new Innovation and Leadership course have been delving into the power of rethinking, inspired by Adam Grant’s acclaimed book Think Again. Grant’s work explores why people often prioritise feeling right over being right, and how behaviours such as preaching, prosecuting and politicking can impede learning and progress.

To bring these ideas to life, students took part in a series of experiential learning challenges using fantastic MTa Insight kits — an approach widely used in corporate and military settings to develop leadership, communication and collaboration. With activities designed to prioritise reflection and learning transfer*, students have experienced both flat team collaboration and structured leadership roles. Discussions have centred on curiosity, testing assumptions and recognising when intuition needs to be challenged.

The Innovation and Leadership programme — running for the first time this year as an alternative to a GCSE — began with a deep dive into behavioural science. Students explored the Theory of Change, the COM-B (capability, opportunity, motivation) model, and the Behaviour Change Wheel. After case-based learning, they launched into a live project with the school’s charities and sustainability committees, supporting fellow student leaders in developing innovative, high-impact initiatives. Understanding human behaviour will be central to helping students generate creative and effective solutions throughout the course.

Looking ahead, the programme will continue to blend academically rigorous behavioural science with explicit leadership and communication training. Students will also work with external partners on real-world challenges—though many already have their eyes on the upcoming business simulation module, which is set to be a standout experience.

The next major event arrives on Monday, when the school welcomes back Lydia Jourdain, a GiANT leadership expert and senior coach with Wakeman Wright. She will lead a workshop on The Communication Code, with parents invited to participate alongside Year 10 and Lower Sixth students in a shared learning environment. Having parents attend sessions always creates added excitement and enjoyment, as well as prompting interesting family discussions about what they have learnt.

Note: Learning transfer remains one of education’s greatest challenges, as students often separate skills from subject knowledge. The MTa activities overcome this by removing the need for prior expertise, allowing staff and students to focus entirely on behaviour, decision-making and team dynamics.