Creativity, Enrichment, Personal Development, Taskmaster, Taskmaster in School, Teaching, Teaching and Learning, Teamwork

What’s So Good About Taskmaster Club? ORACY

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Week 3 — Oracy: Speaking, Listening & Thinking Out Loud

In education, we often celebrate reading, writing, arithmetic – but too often we forget the power of talk. That’s where oracy comes in: the ability to express ideas clearly, listen deeply, reason with others, and adapt language to different contexts. For many young people, that’s just as important, if not more so, than any other skill.

With its team-based, often chaotic, always creative structure, Taskmaster Club offers a brilliant environment for oracy to flourish. Teams must plan, defend, revise and sometimes persuade one another that their strange idea is “the one.” In doing so, they practise real-world communication and develop confidence, clarity and collaborative thinking.

Below: how Taskmaster Club builds oracy — and why growing oracy skills matters now more than ever.

What is Oracy — and Why It Matters

  • The term “oracy” was coined in the UK in the 1960s by the British educator Andrew Wilkinson. The idea was to give spoken language skills equal status with literacy and numeracy.cambridge-community.org.uk+1
  • According to the most recent report from the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England (2024), oracy should become the “fourth R” of education — as vital to children’s development as reading, writing and arithmetic.oracyeducationcommission.co.uk+1
  • Oracy means more than just speaking: it encompasses reasoning together, listening, adapting communication, arguing respectfully, and engaging in collective thinking.Artis+2Research Schools Network+2

In a time where clear communication, empathy, argumentation and collaboration are increasingly vital (in school, society and future workplaces), oracy is something we cannot afford to neglect.

What Research & Policy Are Saying (UK Focus)

  • According to the University of Cambridge’s educational research, when students are taught to reason together — to use talk to think with others — they become better at reasoning individually too.University of Cambridge
  • Studies show that purposeful classroom talk and oracy-recognition improve academic achievement, support social and emotional development, and build skills essential for life beyond school: confidence, expression, civic engagement and agency.ESU+2Research Schools Network+2
  • Recent national-level reviews (like that of the Oracy Commission) argue for integrating speaking & listening — across all subjects and extracurriculars — to prepare young people for a world where communication, discussion and collaboration are key.sec-ed.co.uk+2oracyeducationcommission.co.uk+2

In short: oracy isn’t just “nice-to-have”. It’s a foundational competence – socially, academically, professionally.

How Taskmaster Club Nurtures Oracy in Every Session

Here’s how the Club’s structure naturally builds oracy – often without students realising they’re “learning”.

  • Constant justification & persuasion: Teams discuss how to approach tasks, negotiate ideas, and defend why one plan is better than another. That builds clarity of thought — and the confidence to express it.
  • Collective reflection: After every challenge, participants talk through what worked, what failed, and what they’d do differently. That encourages listening, evaluation, and shared understanding.
  • Role-sharing & leadership language: Teams rotate roles — planners, doers, presenters — which gives everyone a chance to speak, lead, or support. That variety cultivates flexible communication styles.
  • Spontaneous collaboration under pressure: Many tasks are time-pressured, chaotic or absurd: teams must think quickly, adjust plans, and communicate on the fly. That helps build adaptability and real-world readiness.
  • Inclusive, low-stakes environment: Because tasks are playful and creative rather than “test-based,” students are more willing to experiment with ideas, make mistakes, speak up and learn from each other.

Why Oracy — and thus Taskmaster Club — Matters More Than Ever

  • With the recent push (via the Oracy Commission) to recognise oracy as the “fourth R,” schools and educators are being encouraged to embed speaking and listening skills across all areas of learning. Taskmaster Club is already doing this — in a way that feels fun, not forced.
  • As workplaces, communities and societies become more collaborative, global and fluid, strong communication, confidence, and the ability to reason with others are increasingly vital. Oracy helps equip young people for that reality.
  • For many learners — especially those less confident in writing or those from under-resourced backgrounds — oracy provides another route to express their thinking, show their knowledge, and contribute meaningfully. It’s equitable, empowering, accessible.

Practical Ideas to Boost Oracy in Your Club

If you run a Taskmaster Club (or are thinking of starting one), here are some concrete ideas to make oracy explicit — and build it intentionally:

  • At the end of each task, spend a few minutes debriefing: ask each team member to say one thing they liked about someone else’s idea, and one improvement they’d suggest.
  • Run tasks that require verbal presentation — so teams have to pitch their ideas out loud, describe their methods, or explain their thinking under a time limit.
  • Rotate roles deliberately — ensure quieter students get a chance to lead discussion, speak, or summarise the group’s thinking.
  • Encourage discussion of choices: when a plan fails, ask teams to reflect aloud on why, what they might do differently — celebrate “good thinking, even if the result was exactly what was hoped for.”
  • Use mixed media: some tasks should require strategy talk (planning, reasoning), others storytelling or performative explanation — giving varied opportunities for oracy development.

Final Thought

Oracy isn’t a luxury. It’s a human right: the right to think aloud, to express, to reason, to contribute. And in a world increasingly shaped by communication — between communities, workplaces, nations — oracy is as vital as reading, writing or arithmetic.

With its blend of teamwork, challenge, play and reflection, Taskmaster Club gives young people a rare gift: regular, joyful, purposeful opportunities to speak, listen and think together. It doesn’t just help them win silly tasks — it helps them find their voice.

Taskmaster Club materials:

Further posts in the ‘What’s So Good About Taskmaster Club series:

Creativity, Learning, Personal Development, Taskmaster, Taskmaster in School, Teaching, Teaching and Learning, Teamwork

Secret Tasks: The Unexpected Key to Obvious Impact

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Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting Southway Primary School, where their Year 6 pupils have been running Taskmaster Club this term.

I was there to learn more about a collaborative project they’re planning with their neighbouring secondary school, TRS, and it’s an idea that’s simple but could well be extremely impactful. Older pupils from TRS will take on leadership roles, running Taskmaster Club sessions for the younger pupils and modelling collaborative teamwork and communication. It’s peer-led, it’s practical, and it’s the kind of initiative that quietly builds confidence in all age groups. I can’t wait to see what happens next and the ripple effect it has across both schools.

But that wasn’t the highlight of the visit.

The Teacher Who Introduced Me to the “Secret Task”

While speaking with a teacher who has been running Taskmaster Club with Post-16 pupils, she shared an adaptation she had made to the format. It was so clever, simple, and bursting with potential that I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

She had introduced The Secret Task.

While all of the teams were working on the same task, she privately assigned individual pupils an extra rule or personal mission to complete during the session. These were designed to shape behaviours, build skills, or push pupils slightly outside their comfort zones – all while keeping the playful spirit of Taskmaster intact.

The sorts of secret tasks she shared included:

  • Make sure your team uses your idea for at least one task today.
  • You must agree with everything everyone says.
  • Do not speak at all during the session today.
  • Sabotage your team’s attempt in some way. If your team win, they lose; if they lose, you gain bonus points; if you get caught, you lose points.

Each one requires a different kind of strategy, awareness, and self-management. And each one develops a different skill.

Why Secret Tasks Work So Well

What struck me most wasn’t just the creativity of the idea—it was the intentionality behind it.

Secret tasks give teachers an opportunity to:

1. Personalise the learning experience

Each pupil can be guided toward a specific behaviour, challenge, or strength. A quieter pupil could have a task encouraging leadership; a dominant pupil could be nudged toward active listening; someone who struggles with teamwork could be steered into building or repairing group dynamics. All while attempting the same task.

2. Strengthen inclusion and adaptive practice

We talk a lot about adaptations, but this is adaptive practice disguised as fun. It gives every pupil a way to participate meaningfully, even if their needs or strengths differ from their peers’. No one is singled out. No one is left out. Everyone plays.

3. Encourage reflection and metacognition

Secret tasks aren’t just playful – they support deeper thinking. When pupils debrief afterwards, they start to notice how behaviours influence the outcome of a team task. They learn to reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and how their own actions shaped the group.

4. Maintain the magic of Taskmaster

Taskmaster thrives on chaos, surprise, and joyful unpredictability. Secret tasks add another layer of mystery that feels perfectly in keeping with the spirit of the format.

An Obvious Impact Through Subtle Means

What I love most is how quietly transformative the secret task can be. It’s a small tweak with the potential for huge impact. When used purposefully, it allows any teacher or facilitator to:

  • build confidence
  • develop communication skills
  • challenge assumptions
  • support social interaction
  • nurture leadership
  • encourage teamwork
  • and gently shift behaviours

…all without breaking the flow of the session or drawing attention to any one pupil’s needs.

This, to me, is inclusive practice at its best: playful, personalised, and powerfully human.

What Secret Tasks Would You Add?

I left Southway feeling inspired – not just by what they’re doing now, but by the possibilities these secret tasks unlock. I’d love to hear other ideas and adaptations people are using in their clubs, classrooms, or youth group sessions.

Sometimes the smallest twist creates the biggest shift. And sometimes, a secret task is the most obvious way to make an impact.

Creativity, Enrichment, Learning, Personal Development, Taskmaster, Taskmaster in School, Teaching, Teaching and Learning, Teamwork

What’s so good about Taskmaster Club? CREATIVITY

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Taskmaster Club is built on unpredictability, play and lateral thinking – exactly the conditions that let creativity breathe. Because the Club’s tasks rarely have a single “right” answer, teams must invent their own routes to success. That open-endedness, combined with a rich mix of music, drama, art and hands-on making, creates repeated, scaffolded chances to practise creative thinking — in other words, creativity isn’t an occasional add-on: it’s the curriculum.

Below we explore how Taskmaster Club develops creativity, what the academic evidence says (with a UK focus), and how these playful tasks nurture the kind of creative thinking young people need today.

Why Taskmaster-style tasks are great for creativity

  1. Open outcomes = generative thinking
    When tasks don’t prescribe a method or final form, teams must ask “what could this be?” not “what must this be?” That shift from replicating a model to possibility thinking is central to creative development: it invites hypothesis, experimentation and risk-taking — the very habits Anna Craft identified as core to creative learning (she coined and championed the idea of possibility thinking). Open University BERA
  2. Constraints actually help creativity
    Paradoxically, tight constraints (time, materials, silly rules) focus creative exploration. Taskmaster tasks often force teams to be inventive within limits — and research across creative pedagogy shows that constraint-driven tasks stimulate fluency and originality by encouraging lateral approaches rather than formulaic solutions. (See examples in creativity collaboratives and school-based action research.) ACE+1
  3. Multimodal practice builds creative flexibility
    Because Taskmaster tasks can require music, drama, visual art, spoken word, or engineered props, students repeatedly practise transferring ideas across modes. This multimodal practice is important: creative expertise grows when learners can move ideas between media, testing which forms best express a concept. The national Creativity Collaboratives and university-school partnerships emphasise this cross-disciplinary approach. Durham Commission on Creativity and Education | Arts Council England
  4. Collaborative creativity is richer than solo creativity
    Teams bring different perspectives and skills; this collision of ideas leads to novel combinations. UK scholars working on creative classroom practice note that well-structured collaboration helps students -externalise ideas, receive immediate feedback, and iterate – turning initial sparks into refined creative products. Professor Teresa Cremin’s work on creative pedagogy emphasises the value of teacher-facilitated but learner-led creative activity, where peer interaction and teacher support combine to sustain risk and exploration.
  5. Low-stakes play creates the behavioural safety to be bold
    Taskmaster Club’s playful framing reduces fear of failure. When “failure” is comical or temporary, learners are more likely to take original risks – which is where real creativity often happens. Research from school collaboratives shows that embedding creative tasks as part of a supportive school culture increases children’s willingness to experiment. University of Exeter News+1

Sir Ken Robinson: Creativity as a Human Right

No discussion of creativity in education is complete without Sir Ken Robinson, whose work transformed how teachers, schools and policymakers think about human potential. Robinson famously argued that “creativity is as important as literacy” — not as a slogan, but as a recognition that imagination and expression deserve the same value as traditional academic skills.

He also emphasised that creativity is not confined to the arts: it is a mode of thinking that cuts across every discipline, powered by curiosity, divergent thinking and the willingness to try something new. Crucially, Robinson championed learning environments where experimentation, improvisation and playful failure are embraced rather than avoided.

Taskmaster Club embodies these principles beautifully. Its open-ended challenges, humorous framing, and celebration of unconventional approaches create exactly the conditions Robinson believed young people need to develop their creative capacities.

What the UK evidence tells us (short takeaways)

  • Possibility thinking matters. Anna Craft’s research established that the move from “what is” to “what might be” is a repeatable, teachable mode of thinking – precisely what Taskmaster-style tasks provoke. BERA
  • Creative pedagogy is most effective when it’s supported, structured and inclusive. Projects like the Creativity Collaboratives and university-school partnerships show that creative teaching yields deeper understanding and longer-term skill development when teachers scaffold opportunities and assessment recognises process as well as product. ACE+1
  • Teacher and peer support amplifies creativity. Teresa Cremin and colleagues emphasise that teachers who model risk, reflect openly, and give careful feedback help students sustain creative efforts beyond momentary sparks. Open University Profiles+1
  • Creativity connects to broader futures skills. National reports and interdisciplinary research (including engineering and design education) emphasise that creative problem-solving is essential for future workplaces — and school-based creative projects are a key route to develop it. Royal Academy of Engineering+1

How Taskmaster Club specifically nurtures those ingredients

  • Regular, varied practice: Weekly sessions give repeated opportunities to ideate, prototype and reflect — crucial cycles described in creativity research.
  • Cross-disciplinary prompts: A single challenge might require story, sound, visuals and a practical build — mirroring real-world creative problems that demand transferable skills.
  • Peer feedback and reflection: Debriefing after challenges turns fun into learning: what worked, what surprised us, what would we try differently next time? That reflective loop is essential for creative improvement.
  • Design for inclusivity: Rotating roles (idea generator, maker, presenter) and mixed-ability teams let different strengths surface; university-school projects show inclusive design increases all pupils’ creative confidence. Birmingham City University+1

Practical tips to amplify creativity in your Club

  1. Value the idea, not just the result. Highlight smart failures and surprising attempts in your feedback.
  2. Introduce micro-constraints. Short time limits or limited materials often spur greater invention than total freedom.
  3. Rotate media. Running a task that specifically requires music or drama helps pupils practise transferring ideas.
  4. Make reflection explicit. Use team reflection time after tasks: what’s one idea we’d keep, one we’d drop, one we’d try differently?
  5. Share and celebrate process. Put up process photos/sketches in school spaces – creativity sees greater uptake when its process is visible.

Final thought

Creativity isn’t a mysterious trait you either have or don’t — it’s cultivated through repeated, scaffolded practice, risk-friendly environments, multimodal tasks and supportive collaboration. Taskmaster Club offers a compact, joyful ecosystem where all of those elements meet. It’s not just entertaining: it’s a practical engine for building future-ready creative thinkers.

Further reading & resources

  • Anna Craft — background and the idea of possibility thinking. BERA
  • Teresa Cremin — creativity, teacher practice and peer-supported creative learning. Open University Profiles+1
  • Creativity Collaboratives / Arts Council England — school–university partnerships embedding creative pedagogy. ACE+1
  • Royal Academy of Engineering — on creativity and engineering education (practical, interdisciplinary creativity). Royal Academy of Engineering

Taskmaster Club materials:

Personal Development, Taskmaster, Taskmaster in School, Teaching and Learning, Teamwork

What’s So Good About Taskmaster Club? TEAMWORK

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Teamwork: A Foundation for School & Work Success

In the first post of our “What’s So Good About Taskmaster Club?” series, I want to highlight perhaps the most powerful benefit: teamwork.

Why Teamwork Matters in Taskmaster Club

At its heart, Taskmaster Club is built on collaborative challenges. Participants tackle creative, often quirky tasks in teams, learning not only to be imaginative, but also to work together strategically. Here’s how this fosters teamwork:

  1. Shared Goals & Collective Problem-Solving
    • By working in teams, students must negotiate who does what, combine strengths, and decide together how best to tackle a task.
    • This shared problem-solving builds trust, responsibility, and a sense of shared ownership of both success and setbacks.
  2. Communication & Feedback Loops
    • Team members learn to articulate ideas clearly, listen actively, and respond to each other’s suggestions — especially when time or resources are limited.
    • They also learn to give and receive feedback, which fosters openness and mutual respect.
  3. Accountability & Role-Distribution
    • Each person needs to contribute; in Taskmaster challenges, one teammate’s bottleneck can slow the whole group. That means students learn responsibility, and how their part fits into the bigger picture.
    • Roles emerge (leader, doer, thinker, encourager) — and shifting roles helps build adaptability.
  4. Resilience Through Collaboration
    • When things go wrong (and they often do), teammates support each other, adjust strategies, or pivot together. Failure becomes a learning moment, not just an endpoint.

The Real-World & Academic Payoffs of Teamwork

Developing strong teamwork skills isn’t just “nice to have” – it’s a critical life skill, backed by academic research and essential in modern work environments.

  • Rachael Carden, Sarah Cork, and Liz Marks carried out research at the University of Brighton on inclusive collaboration. They emphasise designing group assessments so that process (how a team works) matters as much as the final outcome — reinforcing resilience, belonging, and shared agency. Brighton Research
  • Connie Pritchard, Zoe Prytherch, and Nigel Francis from Cardiff University co-authored a recent study “Making teamwork work: enhancing teamwork and assessment in higher education”. They note that despite the challenges, teamwork is one of the most sought-after graduate skills, but group-based assessments often fail unless careful structures are in place. Orca
  • Lucy Chilvers, in a UK peer-learning context, wrote about a “peer-to-peer model” where collaboration is inclusive, respectful, developmental, and accountable. Journal of Peer Learning
  • Claire Dickerson and Joy Jarvis, among others, studied staff-student collaboration in higher education in the UK and found that students working with academics “identified learning … in relation to employability skills … and … their perceptions of themselves as learners”. researchprofiles.herts.ac.uk
  • According to an educational study, teamwork skills are “integral to success in today’s professional world”, and working in groups helps students build collaboration, motivation, and persistence. ERIC
  • Cooperative learning (i.e., structured group work) has been shown to boost academic performance, because the shared knowledge and peer explanations deepen understanding. Pepper Pot+1
  • Teamwork also cultivates social and emotional intelligence — empathy, conflict resolution, and listening — which are foundational for both school and workplace relationships. goldstareducation.com+1
  • Research in higher education shows that collaboration helps students adapt to “multidisciplinary groups … improving their motivation, persistence, and professional skills.” ERIC
  • On a more systemic level, one study found that “collaborative knowledge building” via cooperative learning is increasingly favoured over traditional teacher-centred approaches to prepare students for workforce realities. uijrt.com

In short: teamwork isn’t a bonus skill — it’s an academic accelerator.

And in educational settings, children who engage in strategic reciprocity – cooperating in their peer social networks – tend to perform better academically. arXiv

Why Teamwork in Taskmaster Club Gives Unique Value

Putting all this together, Taskmaster Club offers something special:

  • Low-stakes experimentation: The playful, creative format means students can try out teamwork and an array of approaches to tasks without the heavy pressure of graded assignments.
  • Reflective learning: After each task, teams can reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve – building a growth mindset.
  • Real collaboration: Unlike more “artificial” school group work, tasks in Taskmaster Club are unpredictable and require genuine collaboration, creativity, and compromise.
  • Transferable skills: The teamwork habits developed (communication, accountability, adaptability) map directly onto both academic group projects and professional teams.

Why This Matters for Schools and Employers

  • For Schools: Taskmaster Club helps embed collaborative learning into school culture, supporting students’ academic and social development in an engaging, fun way.
  • For Employers: Students who learn to work in creative teams – and who understand how to navigate uncertainty, delegate, and adapt – are more prepared for modern, agile workplaces.

Want to Learn More?

Book Review, Brilliant Books, Reading, Reading for Pleasure

The 1,000 Year Old Boy – Ross Welford

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This one is a cracker. It tells the story of a 1000 year old man, trapped in the body of an 11 year boy. It’s brilliantly written from his perspective, as well as the perspective of a boy who he meets in modern day England, Aiden.

When tragedy befalls Alfie, he is forced to seek help from his new friends, Aiden and Roxy, while trying to keep his true age a secret and overcome some increasingly dangerous and urgent challenges.

This book is rich in historical references, perfect for the primary classroom. Although, that said, Ross Welford does make it clear that he made most of them up. It also begs the question, would you want to live forever? The answer of the children may change after reading this book.

Tom, age 10, says: “I really enjoyed The 1000 Year Old Boy because, unlike other books, it is told from two different points of view. The first boy, who the book is about, is called Alfie (or Alve) and, thanks to the livperler, he doesn’t age. This means he’s 1000 years old, but looks like an 11 year old. The other perspective is from Aiden, the boy in modern times who makes friends with Alfie. I like the way it changes from one view to other to tell the same story from different angles. It’s quite an exciting story, especially the build up to the climax. I’m not sure if I’d like to live for 1000 years, because for Alife, it was pretty tough. I might want to, to see what happens in the future.”

Discover more brilliant books for KS2 children below…

Stories for KS2 children
Book Review, Brilliant Books, Reading, Reading for Pleasure

How to be Me – Cath Howe

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Lucas is alone. His mum has died and his dad is always very busy and doesn’t really seem to understand his son. It’s the summer holidays and the few friends Lucas does have all have plans that leave him alone and bored. Much to his annoyance, Lucas’s dad signs him up for a drama club that runs through the holiday. He’s knows he’s going to hate it, and true enough, he does. However, for one reason or another, he goes back. Slowly but surely he begins to feel more comfortable there and begins to fit in and find his place.

It took me a while to get into this book. Howe writes from Lucas’s perspective and when he becomes overwhelmed with emotions (usually towards the ends of the chapters) his internal monologue becomes a bit tricky to follow – this may just be a me-thing. As the narrative developed we became more invested in the story and Lucas also gained more control over his emotions.

Overall, I enjoyed the book because of the journey Lucas went on and the people he met. Although many of the adults have their faults, there are no lazy clichés here and all of the characters are well rounded and developed. It’s a pretty heart-warming story and a useful gateway into discussions around mental health with children.

Bella, age 7, says: “I liked the story because it has lots of fun things in it and I think it’s really good. I like the bit where they put all the wishes in the well, I’d like to do that and try and make my wishes come true. It was good in the café when he played the piano to people for the first time and Avalon heard him. It was great at the end that his dad wasn’t mad at him, but he was proud.”

Discover more brilliant books for Key Stage 2 children below…

Stories for KS2 children
Book Review, Brilliant Books, Reading, Reading for Pleasure

THE LAST PEBBLE – ALEX HORNE

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A BIT OF CONTEXT

There are two elephants in the room with this particular book that I should address before really getting into it.

Firstly, I know the author. Alex and I work together on Taskmaster Education. This has no doubt (consciously or otherwise) influenced how I feel about the book and I probably won’t be too cutting about it, although he does encourage me to, ‘be Frank’. I look forward to the day that he remembers my actual name.

The other thing is the, “Oh, great another celebrity having a go a writing a children’s book, just what we needed” issue. The market is already pretty saturated with this happening, and it doesn’t always lead to the best storytelling and can certainly reduce opportunities and exposure for children’s authors who don’t already have a sizeable platform but do have well-written, innovative, creative, important stories to tell.

This one is a little different though. For a start, it doesn’t have lazy racial tropes and that’s always a very good thing. Also, Alex Horne can write. This is his fourth book (if you don’t count all of the Taskmaster ones – which you really could) and the first 2 were written long before he enjoyed the profile afforded to him by the success of Taskmaster. This though, is his first foray into children’s fiction. (He has written a non-fiction book with his band which is great for teaching children about music).

THE ACTUAL REVIEW

The Last Pebble is set in the seaside town of Bognor Regis, “one of the only towns with a surname”, and centres around a boy called Trader and his family. His grandmother is in a care home and his grandfather spends much of his time scouring the beach looking for interesting things – particularly precious stones. One day, whilst on the beach with his grandad, Trader spots a stone that catches his eye. He picks it up, instantly knowing that’s it’s a significant find, and then shows his grandad who confirms that he has something special. Just how special the pebble is isn’t initially obvious to the reader, but as the mystery unravels and the secrets of the stone are revealed, so the story takes shape and Trader’s life is changed forever.

The Last Pebble is a heart-warming story with a few mysterious strands that tread together nicely at the end. This meant that it led to much discussion whist reading about where the narrative might be going, what might happen to the characters and what certain clues meant. As well as a plot that twists and turns its way to a pleasing conclusion there is also good bit of geology and themes such as bullying, self-esteem, family and friendship and even a bit of morality.

This book would work as a class read in KS2, especially if they are studying ‘Rocks’ as their science topic. There are plenty of opportunities to get creative with it as well: using it as a writing stimulus (message in a bottle or the journey of the pebble to name but two); or in art lessons, practising shading and sketching the different qualities of the different stones or a spot of reverse graffiti.

We loved that it was set in Bognor because we live nearby, but really it should encourage all of us to look at the treasures all around us with fresh eyes and inspiration. You never know what gifts are hiding in plain sight.

The character of Charlotte is particularly likeable and brilliant. She is also a keen artist and bus enthusiast. Due to this love of buses, I’m sure she would love visiting the Amberley Museum, which is just up the road from Bognor. I was a little disappointed that it never got a mention but maybe that’s one for the sequel. We might have a while to wait though, as the book took 7 years to write.

In his acknowledgements, Alex notes, ‘I’m truly grateful to everyone at Walker for supporting yet another comedian who thinks they’ve got a book in them.’ On this evidence, that support was well placed and that comedian was correct.

Tom, age 12, says: “I’ve enjoyed how the character’s personalities are really different but they fit together well like a jigsaw. I really enjoyed that there was a mystery about the pebble because it’s fun to try and work it out as we read the story. My favourite character is probably Charlotte because she always has a plan. My favourite part of the book is when trader first discovers the pebble because it sets the story up well. I’d recommend this book for 8-12 year olds who like mysterious, adventurous books.”

Bella, age 10, says: “My favourite character was Charlotte because she’s very clever and she likes art. I like the book because it’s funny, like when Trader said ‘I opened my window and stuck my nose out. I couldn’t smell rain. I couldn’t feel rain. I opened my mouth – I couldn’t taste rain. It wasn’t raining!’. I like this sort of silly humour.”

Discover more brilliant books for Key Stage 2 children below…

Stories for KS2 children
Enrichment, Personal Development, Taskmaster, Taskmaster in School

Personal Develop through Taskmaster Club

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Taskmaster Club isn’t just about fun and games – it’s a powerful tool to help schools meet their personal development objectives while giving students a safe space to explore, experiment, and grow. By taking part in creative challenges, students learn through doing, often surprising themselves with what they can achieve. Along the way, they build essential life skills that go far beyond the classroom.

Here’s how Taskmaster Club links directly to key areas of personal development in UK secondary schools:

1. Character Education

The unpredictable and often quirky challenges of Taskmaster Club encourage students to step outside their comfort zones. They learn resilience when things don’t go as planned, confidence when their ideas shine, and independence by approaching problems in their own way. For example, a challenge that requires inventing a solution from limited materials demands perseverance and creative risk-taking – valuable skills for life.

2. Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development (SMSC)

  • Moral: Many challenges require fair play, honesty, and reflection on the consequences of decisions. A simple rule-bending attempt in a task can spark discussions about ethics and responsibility. Alex might well say that, ‘all the information is on the task’, but where the letter of the law meets the spirit of the law, many a debate can be had.
  • Social: Working in teams helps students collaborate, negotiate, and respect different perspectives. Completing a task together fosters camaraderie and shows the value of collective effort, even when personalities or ideas differ.

3. Citizenship and British Values

Taskmaster Club fosters mutual respect by creating an environment where all contributions are valued, regardless of ability. Students also practise active participation by getting involved, taking turns leading, and supporting their peers – skills that transfer naturally to wider community life and civic engagement.

4. Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE)

Decision-making and problem-solving are at the heart of every challenge. Students must quickly assess a situation, weigh up options, and put ideas into action. Whether it’s building, performing, or strategising, the process sharpens their ability to think critically and creatively under pressure.

5. Leadership and Student Voice

Taskmaster Club offers regular opportunities for leadership, whether through taking charge of a team task, volunteering ideas, or reflecting on outcomes. It also empowers student voice: everyone has space to contribute and advocate for their approach, building agency and confidence in expressing themselves.

In summary: Taskmaster Club combines fun with meaningful skill development, helping schools nurture character, teamwork, respect, decision-making, and leadership.

If you’d like to bring the joy and benefits of Taskmaster Club to your school, get in touch via info@taskmastereducation.com to find out how we can support your students’ personal development journey.

Taskmaster, Taskmaster in School

Build 21st Century Skills with Taskmaster Education

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How Taskmaster Club Could Thrive in America — And How It Builds 21st Century Skills

If you haven’t yet heard of Taskmaster Club, imagine this: a group of students laughing, problem-solving, collaborating, and thinking outside the box – all while completing absurd, creative challenges like “Get this potato as far from the school as possible” or “Create the most impressive domino chain using only items in your backpack.” It’s based on the hit British TV show Taskmaster, and it’s taking educational spaces by storm.

So why might Taskmaster Club work so well in American schools, and how does it align with 21st century learning goals? Let’s dig in.

A Perfect Fit for American Classrooms

1. Humour Meets Learning

Taskmaster Club combines the joy of play with the thrill of problem-solving. Think Whose Line Is It Anyway? meets STEM Day. It’s funny, unpredictable, and totally engaging – everything teachers hope for when looking to hook students into deeper learning.

2. Built for Engagement

American educators are increasingly turning to experiential learning – project-based learning, Genius Hour, and game-based education. Taskmaster Club fits right in. It transforms school into a place where fun meets function, and learning becomes something students genuinely want to do.

3. Flexible, Scalable, and Inclusive

Whether you’re in a classroom, running an after-school program, or coordinating summer enrichment, Taskmaster Club can scale to fit your needs. It can be low-tech or tech-rich, competitive or collaborative, silly or serious. Its flexibility makes it accessible to schools across varied educational models and student demographics.

4. A Natural Ally of SEL (Social-Emotional Learning)

From managing group dynamics to learning how to handle failure with a smile, Taskmaster Club supports many SEL goals. It helps students build empathy, resilience, and interpersonal skills – traits that are essential for thriving both in school and in life.

Where 21st Century Skills Come to Life

In today’s world, content knowledge isn’t enough. Students need to master the “4 Cs” (creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication), along with digital literacy, adaptability, and leadership. Taskmaster Club delivers all of these – not through lectures, but through lived experiences.

Creativity:
Every task is an open invitation to think differently. Whether students are designing elaborate contraptions or solving abstract puzzles, they’re constantly innovating.

Collaboration:
Team-based challenges teach students how to work together, resolve conflicts, and play to each other’s strengths.

Critical Thinking:
There’s no obvious right answer in most tasks. Students have to evaluate, strategize, and reflect – a perfect playground for critical thought.

Communication:
From pitching ideas to performing presentations, students practice both verbal and non-verbal communication in meaningful ways.

Adaptability & Resilience:
Things will go wrong. That’s the point. Students learn how to improvise, bounce back, and grow from the experience – key skills for navigating the real world.

Leadership & Initiative:
With rotating roles and dynamic teams, students get chances to lead, step up, and take ownership of their learning.

Digital Literacy (when tech is involved):
In schools that incorporate tech into Taskmaster tasks, students can create videos, collaborate online, or edit presentations – building modern media fluency along the way.

Final Thoughts

Taskmaster Club isn’t just fun – it’s transformative. It meets students where they are: curious, social, and bursting with energy. It nurtures the skills they need to succeed – not just in school, but in the unpredictable world beyond.

So if you’re looking for a high-impact, low-barrier way to breathe life into your teaching, Taskmaster Club might be just the challenge you’re looking for.

Theatre Reviews, Tom's Reviews

Hamilton

2 Comments

Who? The Hamilton Tour of UK and Ireland is produced by Jeffrey Seller and Cameron Mackintosh

What? Hamilton

Where? Mayflower Theatre, Southampton

When? 18 March – 26 April 2025

What the show is about? The show is about Alexander Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of the US. It follows his life from his arrival to New York to his death. In the first part of the show you meet the main characters. Hamilton is an orphan from the Caribbean who goes to King’s College and there he meets 3 fellow revolutionaries, John Laurens, Marquis de Lafayette (Lafayette), and Hercules Mulligan. He also meets Aaron Burr, one of the most recent graduates from King’s College.

They join the revolution to fight off the British and once they have succeeded, they set about writing the constitution and leading the newly United States of America.

We also learn about Hamilton’s private life as he meets and marries his wife Eliza. They have 8 children together but in the musical they really only focus on one of them, Phillip.

What was really good about it?  What I think was really good about the show was the amount of songs that there were because I quite like musicals, and at the time I watched it I didn’t know many of the songs but afterwards we got the CD so I learned them off of that. I know them quite well now….it might be slightly driving my mum crazy.

I liked how the stage was set up and the revolve worked really well, and rather than the actors having to walk around the stage, the revolve took them that way instead. The choreography for the performance was really quite clever, especially as there were most likely going to be about 5-30 people on stage at a time, they also used revolving bit on the stage skilfully when actors entered and left the stage. The whole thing was incredibly slick and seamless.

Also at some points at the start of the second act there are rap battles between Thomas Jefferson (Secretary of State at the time) and Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of Treasury at the time) during cabinet meetings. The rap battles are really interesting, deciding first where they should put America’s main banks and the capital city and whether they should work together to demolish New York’s debt but Jefferson, from Virginia, doesn’t want his home state to be in debt as well as New York.

The second rap battle (or Cabinet Meeting) between Jefferson and Hamilton is about whether they should help France (who at war with England) or stay out of it. Jefferson wants to help France but Hamilton believes that America are just too fragile to keep fighting, and that they should stay out of it.

What could be better? The thing that could have been better was that, although I had loads of sweets, I didn’t get an ice cream during the interval.

What my Dad thinks? Hamilton is worth the hype. It’s just incredible. The music, the chorography, the lyrics, the storytelling, the acting and the emotion are all done perfectly.

I’d been a little concerned that the 2 hours 45 minutes would be a bit long for the kids (and me) but it flew by. It was worth watching the Broadway version on Disney+ beforehand because it meant the children were able to follow the plot better and were familiar with some of the songs. It also meant they were giddy with excitement whenever King George came onto stage.

Star Rating? 5 Stars

Find more of my theatre reviews and match reports on my blog page.

@JamesBlakeLobb