N E W S L E T T E R - Radley College

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Standing o Shoulders This is only the second full year of the ‘Standing on the Shoulders of Giants’ Sixth-form Lecture, Seminar and Research Project Programme – yet already it seems difficult to imagine sixth-form life without what is now known affectionately as ‘SOTSOG’. What is SOTSOG? Every academic cycle, in the first half of the academic year, the entire 6.1 yeargroup attends a Lecture period in the Theatre. Two different dons have roughly twenty minutes each to inspire their audiences on topics and issues central to sixth-form intellectual life and indeed to the issues of university study that lie ahead. Subjects like The Whig View of History, Revolution in Science, The Ethics of Terrorism, Marxism and Feminism, the Nature versus Nurture debate and many others have been covered – with the use of powerful film and audio clips to help bring these issues alive. These lectures have proved a show-case for Common Room to demonstrate their intellectual talents and inspire the boys. As someone lucky enough to have seen all of the lectures thus far, I can testify that the standards of presentation and content have been exceptional. Lectures that seem to have especially gripped the sixth-formers over the past few months have included Alex Hawkins (Music) and Charlie Barker (Modern Languages and Senior Master) on Race in the Cinema and in Music and Ed Tolputt (Physics) and Anthony Williams (Music) on those contrasting European Geniuses, Alan Turing and Beethoven. Another highlight was Ian Yorston’s (IT) lecture on the emergence of the Big Brother state in Britain – which was not only full of impact, it also proved particularly timely, as it coincided with the 6.2/ St Helen’s Conference focusing on these selfsame issues in November 2010. After each lecture, the lecturers’ slides are sent out to the yeargroup, so boys have a record of the material covered. They are also given a Course booklet, containing summary notes on each topic from each of the Lecturers, together with follow-up reading and research suggestions, guiding them on the next steps once their interest is sparked. The second SOTSOG period each academic cycle is taken up with a university-style Seminar, where boys meet with their Seminar leader, in small groups of around a dozen, to discuss issues that have interested them in the lectures. Discussions have been full, frank and often stimulating. Such intellectual stimulation over and above their mainstream A level subjects is of course an educational end in itself. It can be hugely helpful in A level classes, for example, to be able to reference names like Sir Isaac Newton (who himself used the ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ analogy to describe his own investigations), Nietzsche and Marx, safe in the knowledge that sixthformers will have an understanding of the enormous legacy of such key figures from their SOTSOG lectures. But SOTSOG doesn’t end there. In the second part of the 6.1 year, the interest triggered by these lectures and seminars is followed up with the third and final part of the Programme: the undertaking of a research project. There are two types of research project; every sixth former chooses one of them. The simplest is the internally-marked 2,000 word ‘Radley Project’ – on any of the titles suggested by the 34 individual lectures they have heard. A stimulating question is posed – for example, Can or should Art be dangerous? – then explored in the research essay. Even this comparatively short Project carries strong research and independent learning benefits – precisely the kind of skills universities are increasingly valuing, as places become evermore competitive. Will a university applicant be capable of working independently without close supervision? Is he likely to drop out, unable to complete the rigours of the course? Having completed a research project at Radley, all the evidence points to success - and, as we’ve already seen in our UCAS application cycle this year, those boys, the majority, undertaking the Radley Project, have been highlighting its benefits in their UCAS ‘Personal Statements’. And for the even more academically ambitious and organised there is the demanding externally-assessed project – the Edexcel Extended Project - worth half an A level. This is by no means an easy option, requiring a great deal of planning and organisational skill, with for example, around 20-25 research 4 THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER
n the of Giants sources needing to be consulted and incorporated into a final dissertation. That said, the benefits to any applicant aiming for a top university are clear to see. If a Radleian can successfully, on top of taking four A levels, complete a 7,000 word research project, then without question, he is likely to prove a very strong candidate indeed for university study. This year around 35 completed projects will be submitted to Edexcel from our current 6.2s (who did most of the research for these Projects in their 6.1 year). We await the results with interest. What has been particularly pleasing is that not only has there been some exceptional work at the ‘top end’ – with outstanding original research written on topics like Climate Change, Middle Eastern Politics, Sport Science, Feminism in Literature – some boys who may not necessarily seem natural academic high-flyers have also successfully produced original and high-quality research, again motivated purely by their own personal interest and determination. This sense of seeking to spark and inspire is of course the very cornerstone of the SOTSOG course. And whatever else it may achieve, SOTSOG seems to be encouraging a significant number of boys to be more academically ambitious – at the same time giving them a taste of the research skills that will be needed once they arrive at university. None of this could have been possible without the enthusiasm of Common Room. A clear majority, over fifty, of all dons have been voluntarily involved with SOTSOG in some form or another – whether as Lecturers, Seminar Leaders or Research Project Supervisors. It is interesting to note that a number of schools are currently looking at the idea of research projects and independent learning skills, as a means of supplementing their sixth-form curriculum in these increasingly competitive times. Very few will be able to call upon the talents Radley has been able to muster from its Common Room. Dr Andrew Cunningham THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER 5 THE RADLEY NEWSLETTER 5
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N E W S L E T T E R - Radley College

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