Sixty seconds for every club

Text A: Give every club the same minute — an original student committee proposal

At the activities fair, the busiest stall is often the one with the largest display and the loudest group behind it. A small club may have an excellent activity but little equipment to show. We propose a short assembly in which every club has one minute to explain itself. Equal time would not make every club equally popular, but it would give each one a hearing before students decide which stalls to visit.

A minute encourages a useful question: what does a newcomer actually need to know? Clubs would have to choose a few clear details rather than list every achievement. The presentation could state what members do, when they meet and whether beginners are welcome. Those facts may matter more to a new pupil than photographs of last year’s trophies or a performance designed mainly to impress existing members.

We would offer a simple planning sheet and a rehearsal for anyone who wanted help. Clubs could use a short recording instead of speaking live, so the opportunity would not depend entirely on a confident presenter. The assembly should lead into the fair, not replace it. After hearing the minute, students could ask questions and try an activity at the stall.

The schedule would need discipline. If one group uses three minutes, the promise of equal time becomes meaningless and the final clubs lose their audience. We could ask for the basic information in advance, use the same timing signal for everyone and publish the details afterwards. The aim is a fair introduction, not a contest to discover who can make the grandest entrance.

Text B: An introduction is more than a pitch — an original response from a club organiser

A shared assembly could make smaller clubs visible, but a one-minute rule may reward exactly the confidence the proposal wants to balance. Some activities are easy to describe dramatically; others become interesting only when a visitor handles a tool, solves a small problem or hears members talk naturally. A polished speech can make a limited activity sound exciting, while a worthwhile quiet one may seem unremarkable at a distance.

Recordings offer another route, but they do not remove every difference in resources. One club has members who edit videos regularly; another has only a borrowed device and no spare afternoon. If the school permits elaborate productions, the competition may move from display boards to editing. Support should include a genuinely simple option which does not look like a second-class version of the preferred format.

I would ask every club for the same short written description and a beginner-friendly activity at the fair. Make the written information readable before the day and keep it available afterwards. A student should not lose the chance to learn about a club because they were absent from the assembly or could not follow a fast description among many others.

If the assembly goes ahead, do not judge it only by which stalls attract the largest crowds immediately afterwards. Ask newcomers whether they understood what joining involved and whether the fair answered questions the presentation could not. Clubs with few places should explain that limit honestly. The useful result is an informed choice and a welcoming first visit, not merely a successful sales pitch. Some groups may need a later visit because their equipment cannot be brought into the hall. Give them a clear way to arrange that visit, rather than penalising an activity for being difficult to compress into a stall.

Your headteacher is considering one-minute club introductions before the activities fair. Write a report evaluating the idea and recommending arrangements for a fair and useful event.

Use your own words and base your response on both sources. In your response:

• evaluate the benefits and limitations of equal presentation time
• recommend arrangements and ways to judge whether they help newcomers

Write about 250 to 350 words. Up to 10 marks are available for reading and up to 25 marks for writing.