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Huge congratulations and well done to Year 12 student Emmanuel who successfully completed the Financial Times–AverPoint Winter News Challenge, which is a 3-month programme designed to develop media literacy skills and understanding of the world.

The news challenge included students from 72 schools across 21 different countries, with individuals completing weekly reading and analysis tasks based on international news topics such global trade and international instability. 

Emmanuel was one of the only 40 students to complete all goals in the 3-month challenged which placed him among the top participants internationally.

Founder and CEO of AverPoint, Shouvik Banerjee, shared the following:

“Each week, we gave students increasingly difficult reading and critical thinking goals. They met these goals while reading about issues like artificial intelligence, tariffs, the events in Venezuela, and the war in Iran.

“In a fast-moving world where many young people get news from algorithmic influencers, our students are engaging with serious journalism. We’re grateful for their effort and your school’s support for the News Challenge.”

Emmanuel, who is studying A-Level Psychology, Business Studies and Sociology emphasised that the challenge was an opportunity to explore how news is presented and interpreted across different sources. He said:

“I dedicated several hours per week for three months to the challenge and my progress was digitally tracked by a Google Chrome extension. We explored articles from the Financial Times and competing outlets and investigated how they balance giving facts with sharing opinions, using case studies like the Epstein Files news story.

“It helped me build consistency and discipline and encouraged me to read the news more frequently and more critically from a range of sources. I’m also more careful about how I take in information and form opinions, which will be useful in any path I choose, which is perfect for me as I am still exploring what I would like to do in the future.”

Well done once again to Emmanuel for successfully completing such an important challenge where searching for accurate and factual information is more important than ever before.

'AverPoint is a browser extension and web application designed to foster media literacy and conscious news reading in students, teachers, and individuals. It serves as a tool to navigate the modern information crisis by helping users measure their news consumption, critically analyse claims, and build healthier media habits, often utilising gaming techniques for engagement.'