Tournament of Minds is an extracurricular project which has been running at Magdalene for four years. The competition involves a team of seven students working to complete a task in one of four categories: Language Literature, Social Sciences, STEM, or The Arts. Each year, the final project is presented to a panel of judges. This involves a performance presented within a 3 x 3 m square. 

This year, Magdalene entered two teams. Team one completed the Language Literature challenge, and Team two completed the Arts challenge. 

Team 1 – Language Literature

This year’s Language Literature challenge allowed us to select a character from a modern piece of literature, and design a theoretical statute of them to be placed in a city of our choice. 

Our team picked Odin, with reference to Neil Gaiman’s ‘Norse Mythology’, and placed our statue in Trondheim, Norway. This led to the selection of the team name “Odin To Joy”: a reference to Odin being the god of poetry and music. We created a model statue of our character - a design that consisted of him, his raven Hugin and Munin, and the eight legged horse Sleipnir. The statue was made from a wire armature, aluminium foil, and plasticine. Our team also wrote a script, containing information about our character, the city and the reasons for our choice. 

Team 2 - The Arts

This year's Arts team “Seasons Greetings'' challenge was to create an immersive art experience based on famous artworks and artists that have become popular as of recent times. We created an installation that had to be assembled and performed in under 10 minutes. This year's team used Banksy’s famous artwork “Season’s Greetings” to address serious issues that are relevant to today’s world, specifically climate change and its effect on future generations. We utilised creative elements such as self composed music, expressive dance, ballet, lyrical and an emotional choir. 

Addressing climate change through Banksy's "Seasons Greetings" is important because it utilises art as a powerful medium to raise awareness and provoke conversations about this pressing global issue. By incorporating thought-provoking imagery and symbolism, Banksy's artwork compels viewers to reflect on the consequences of climate change and encourages them to take action towards a more sustainable future. Additionally, by engaging with a wide audience through his renowned street art, Banksy helps to amplify the urgency of addressing climate change through an engaging and immersive art display.