St Edward's 150 Years - by Nicola Hunter

St Edward’s: 150 Years

Chapter 5 / Doorways and Gateways

Computer technology also made an appearance in the classroom while I was there, with the IBM School’s Computer, which was a portable (it took three boys to lift it) computer that displayed to a television set, and was programmed using a decimal three address instruction set. – Howard Thomson (A, 1966–71)

Left: Upper Sixth Tom Lord (left) and Jonathan Goddard (right) carrying out the practical phase of their A2 individual investigation coursework. Below: 4th Form girls Alexandra Ellis (left) and Camille Bonini (right) performing an acid-base titration. Bottom: Chemistry laboratory, 1964.

Chemistry Of course, chemistry is a very old subject, with its roots in Islamic culture and the study of al-chemistry, or alchemy as it was known in the West. However, it is in many ways still a thrusting, young and vibrant subject right at the forefront of technological advancements, from the development of the material graphene through to atmospheric chemistry and the study into how and why the climate is warming. We like to think that in the Chemistry Department we still have strong elements of tradition yet embrace new ideas. The Chemistry Department is an interesting mix of old and new. The department still resides in the grand 1930s building by the Woodstock Road entrance, but has expanded and spread across the whole of the top floor since the Biology Department moved to the Ogston Building. As a result, we have five good-size laboratories equipped with projectors and data loggers etc., but still with all the curious bottles of interesting-sounding chemicals on display in the drawers. With the introduction of the International GCSE Science to the School, there is a re-establishment of traditional rigour to the curriculum but without losing sight of the real-world applications for the subject, and this continues in the Salters A Level course and IB in the Sixth Form. Sixth Formers devise their own investigations, carry them out and evaluate them using their data to suggest improvements. This provides a good grounding for what is required in practical Science modules at university. There are also the guest speakers and trips keeping both pupils and staff up to speed with the latest developments, such as how to create an energy map of a reaction (including contours), chemical aspects of forensic science, and the chemistry of wine. This year there is also a new Chemistry Instruments extra-curricular club. Shells also get stuck into some extra-curricular practical Chemistry in the Shell Circus, including making their own paint and looking at various forms of energy.

Café des Sciences , Richard Dawkins in the Old Library.

discussed. But peer over a pupil’s shoulder and you may be surprised at what they are reading: the canon still remains at the centre of literary studies at St Edward’s, but alongside the greats of English and American literature pupils are currently reading works from Japan, Nigeria, Sudan, Norway, Sweden, France, Greece, Russia, Canada, Australia and Columbia. Outside the classroom, matters have also changed quite dramatically. There are now unprecedented opportunities for English enthusiasts: during the last academic year, the Department’s Phoenix Society ran four Shakespeare theatre trips, hosted visits by novelists, university professors and a company of actors, invited a folk band to read and sing poetry to them, and took in a museum exhibition, a ballet at Sadler’s Wells and an opera at Covent Garden. So what we call ‘doing English’ is more diverse than ever before, and often more challenging and exciting, both for pupils and for their teachers. SCIENCE In 2008 St Edward’s School proudly opened the new Life Sciences Building (now the Ogston Building). The School currently has 25 Science teachers and five technicians, housed in two Science buildings with 16 laboratories and two teaching rooms. All pupils study Biology, Chemistry and Physics to GCSE and large numbers continue to study the Sciences in the Sixth Form for both A Level and the IB diploma. Pupils are encouraged to look beyond the syllabus and can regularly attend School science societies (‘Bioradicals’, ‘Cavendish’ and

‘Priestley’), to hear lectures and debates about Biology, Medicine, the History and Philosophy of Science and Science in Society. In 2004, as Head of Science, I started a popular and accessible strand of Science event at St Edward’s called ‘ Café des Sciences’ , which are themed sessions, bringing together top scientists with pupils to consider topical and engaging scientific matters. The original idea was to create a discussion-based forum where pupils had the chance to consider scientific issues in a café-style environment reminiscent of the branché Saint- Germain-des-Prés area of Paris; once the nerve centre of the literary and intellectual world. One of the successful features of St Edward’s Café is that pupils research the topic to be discussed in advance so that they are able to debate with confidence. As a result, pupils are already ‘experts’ when they enter the Café and are able to question and argue with much more authority. The pupils are active and interact with each other and the scientists. Recent visiting scientists have included Richard Dawkins, Steve Jones, George McGavin and Kate Lancaster. Topics for discussion have included climate change, evolution, the abyss, shark ecology, nuclear fission, biodiversity, science of cooking, parasites, forensic science, coral reefs, mimicking the sense of smell, and science at the movies. In 2007 St Edwards’s Science Department started working closely with the Oxford International Biomedical Centre to develop the concept of ‘Cafés des Sciences’ , and involve other schools, both maintained and independent. This association has led to a joint annual Science Symposium held at St Edward’s, where top scientists lecture and debate with school pupils, university students and members of the public. Communication

Technology opened up new possibilities for the Cafés by enabling real-time contact with organisations around the world. The first venture was in 2011 when St Edward’s Science Department ran a large inter-School Café at St Edward’s called ‘Coral Reef Crisis’, during which the pupils were able to talk to marine ecologists at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego, California. How different from those school days in Victorian England; from ink wells to ‘Skype’! Dr Kendall Williams Head of Science

Jason Clapham Head of English

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