By Mrs Harrold (Head of Psychology)
Owing to the great popularity of the Traitors TV show over the last few years, with its clear links to Psychology that have encouraged viewers to discuss the motivations behind (sometimes baffling) human behaviour, the Psychology Department decided to trial its own Year 11-Upper Sixth BGS Traitors Evening.
Once the students had arrived and the Traitors had been selected, the evening followed six cycles. In each there was a shared mission, where the Traitors and Faithfuls had to work together. This was followed by ‘free chat’ where students could try and pick up clues to who might betray them and then a ‘round table’ discussion in which 1 or 2 members of the group were banished by being made to become members of the ‘otherworldly’ – a group who could still take part in all aspects of the game bar the round table discussions and voting on banishments. After the banishment, 1 or 2 grisly murders would take place and then the cycle would begin again. To ensure the Traitors could discuss the murder confidentially, they signed into a shared document: ‘Traitors’ Tower’ whilst the Faithfuls signed into a chatbot which taught them a little about a relevant aspect of Psychology.
The students had an excellent time with nearly everyone categorising it as ‘great fun’. Several of the students said how much they had enjoyed speaking to new people and getting to work with individuals across the year groups, as noted by Mariyam Azeez (Year 11) who said that she ‘had a fantastic time and spoke to so many new people!’ and Zara Saleem (Year 11) who commented ‘The game was very intriguing and it was very fun to get involved with other years to work together.’ Ava Mead (Lower Sixth) commented how ‘ Everyone was so enthusiastic and engaged in all the discussions, which made the experience really incredible.’ However, Minaal Ali (Lower Sixth) possibly best summed up how several students seemed to feel by the end of the experience, saying ‘I loved how I got to know people from other years… this was the most unusual but fun school activity I've been to. I can't wait for season two.’
Season Two is indeed coming soon - but it will be running only for Years 8-10 in its next incarnation. Still, the Psychology Department is hugely grateful to all the students who came along to the Year 11-Upper Sixth evening, not just for their support and the reflective feedback they provided, which will hopefully help make the upcoming experience even better for students, but also for their tremendous engagement!
