A?PRESENTATION on the rise of hate crime post Brexit and Islamophobia scooped an annual inter-school prize for Mill Chase Academy pupils.

The Bordon students, who are on the ‘gifted and talented’ programme, were the winners in the Above and Beyond competition for their work on prejudice.

Teams of Year 10 pupils from five schools were asked to come up with a presentation, artefact or performance based on this year’s theme of ‘2016: A Pivotal Year in History’.

They were judged by a panel at Alton College as the competition is based on the college’s Extended Project Qualification, which develops critical thinking, research and reflection.

The schools taking part with Mill Chase were The Petersfield School, Eggar’s?School in Alton, Weydon School in Farnham, and Perins School at Alresford.

The brief allowed for a diverse range of subjects to be covered, and the students really rose to the challenge by tackling serious and difficult issues.

The Mill Chase Academy team investigated incidents of hate crime following last summer’s Brexit referendum, and growing Islamophobia, and the media portrayal of these events.

They discussed gender, religious and racial equality and how 2016 was of particular note in all those areas.

The Petersfield School team chose to look at the impact of terrorism and its media coverage.

They spoke about the election of Donald Trump in America and how it was reported.

They also researched the link between terrorism, fear and voting trends.

Climate change was the topic of choice for the Weydon students, who found ways to provide hope by outlining solutions being carried out to environmental problems.

Donald Trump’s election, with particular reference to climate change and immigration, fascinated the Eggar’s pupils.

And the Perin participants looked to iconic rock stars who died last year for their inspiration – David Bowie and Prince.

They argued they were pivotal in society, not only for their original musical sound, but for how they had influenced the way people thought about gender, image and identity.

Alton College’s director of learning Peter Cox, one of the judges, congratulated the participants. He said:?“Each team showed a great grasp of understanding the topic, displayed a fantastic sense of teamwork, organisational skills and the ability to prioritise work, and their communication skills were extremely impressive.”