St Edward's Super Curriculum

THE SUPER CURRICULUM AT TEDDIES 2024/5 IN REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS OF

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INTRODUCTION

I’m delighted to introduce myself as the new Head of Super-Curriculum, Dr Claudia Ord. I’m also the Head of Employability and Careers and a Classics Teacher, holding a doctorate in Classical Greek from Oxford. My background has given me a deep appreciation for the power of academic enrichment to spark curiosity in every pupil. The Latin word ‘super’ originally described a physical location – the layer ‘above’ or ‘over’ another. In modern English, it has evolved to mean ‘beyond’ or ‘exceeding boundaries’. I would like to think of our Super-Curriculum programme as that extra layer, enabling pupils to discover new interests beyond the classroom and to inspire a love for lifelong learning. As you will see when reading this booklet, last year’s Super-Curriculum programme truly embodied this spirit, offering a diverse array of opportunities that ignited academic curiosity across all disciplines. From captivating lectures to immersive trips, pupils engaged with leading experts and explored subjects in exciting ways. Looking forward, the programme for 2025/6 promises to be equally full of opportunities for pupils to extend their knowledge. To the right of this introduction, you will find a link to the Super Curriculum programme for the current term. I hope you enjoy looking back at the highlights of the 2024/5 Super-Curriculum, and in doing so will see what makes this programme truly ‘super’.

To learn more about upcoming Super Curriculum events for this term, visit our website by scanning the QR code below

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This year presented numerous opportunities to explore science beyond the lab, from talks on maxillofacial surgery to the psychology of radicalisation. During the Physics Department’s ‘Teddies in Flight’ week, the School welcomed Captain Les Brodie and Colonel Dick Covey to deliver talks described as ‘incredibly inspirational’ (Freddie Samuel and Mikhail Aslam, Upper Sixth pupils). Captain Brodie shared insights from his career flying Concorde, and Colonel Covey, a former NASA astronaut, recounted his missions in space – including the rescue of the Hubble Space Telescope. FOR THE SCIENTISTS

From Ukraine, Olga Rudneva and Andrey Stavnitser discussed their experiences of the war and founding the Superhumans Centre which offers philanthropically- funded medical care to those in need of rehabilitation. Pupils learned how survivors are supported with cutting-edge technology to become ‘superhuman’.

‘ Incredibly inspirational ’ Freddie Samuel and Mikhail Aslam, Upper Sixth pupils

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FOR THE HISTORIANS, CLASSICISTS AND POLITICIANS

Budding historians and politicians also enjoyed a rich variety of talks. The Lyne Society, run by the Classics Department, welcomed Dr Ed Bispham from Oxford University and Professor Paul Cartledge from Cambridge University for lectures on the ancient world, while the History Department hosted Professor David Carpenter from King’s College London In residence during the spring, Dr Christopher Burden-Strevens from the University of Kent led a series of sessions on Classics. Drawing thought provoking links to modern politics, his keynote lecture on immigration and xenophobia in Julius Caesar’s Rome ‘was a great opportunity for us to reflect on the parallels we can find in societies separated across millennia’ said Bay Sherwood, Lower Sixth pupil. Further highlights included a lecture during which politics pupils were challenged by Professor Freya Baetens from the University of Oxford, who discussed the growing backlash to the European Convention on Human Rights. who spoke on the Magna Carta’s historical and legal significance.

‘ A great

opportunity for us to reflect on the parallels we can find in societies separated across millennia ’ Bay Sherwood, Lower Sixth pupil

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FOR THE ARTISTS

Celebrating the arts is a vital characteristic of a Teddies education. In the last academic year, pupils have travelled across the UK to experience theatrical productions such as William Shakespeare’s Hamlet at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon Avon and made the short journey across the Quad to see performances at The North Wall. As well as a History of Art lecture on the Bauhaus and Modernism with Dr Robin Schuldenfrei of the Courtauld Institute of Art, we were also delighted to host art critic Will Gompertz’ lecture on how artists see the world titled ‘See What You’re Missing’. Edward Maxwell, then an Upper Sixth pupil, commented: ‘From Picasso in the bath to the coiled-wire sculptures of Eva Hesse, Mr Gompertz was both entertaining, accessible and thought-provoking’. Edward has now gone on to read History of Art at the University of Cambridge.

‘ Entertaining, accessible and thought-provoking ’ Edward Maxwell, Upper Sixth pupil

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Oxford is widely recognised as a literary hub, and our pupils benefit from this with talks by leading academics across literature and philosophy. FOR THE LITERARY CRITICS AND PHILOSOPHERS ‘ Love is

complicated, difficult and amazing ’ Josh Whitaker, Paddy Brett, Aleksey Delunas, Fourth Form pupils

Dr Sophie Duncan, Research Fellow at Magdalen College, visited during Valentine’s week to explore love in Romeo and Juliet , helping pupils see that ‘love is complicated, difficult and amazing’ (Josh Whitaker, Paddy Brett, Aleksey Delunas, Fourth Form pupils). Professor Julie Curtis from Oxford’s Faculty of English gave two lectures on Chekhov, Darren Ormandy spoke on Tolkien and Professor Paul Cartledge of Cambridge discussed English and Classics. In philosophy, Sebastian Herdt from the Blavatnik School of Government gave a talk for the Philosophy Society, and Dr Alexander Greenberg offered a compelling insight into the philosophy of law when he spoke on the philosophical justifications of legal defences to murder and ‘challenged the usual thinking on morality, law and justice’ (Eva Botbol, Upper Sixth pupil).

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FOR THE ECONOMISTS

The Economics Society also hosted external speakers, including Dr Yaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute who discussed the role inequality plays in economies.

Philip Winston, School Governor and Equity Portfolio Manager at Capital Group, spoke to pupils on the importance of investing in equities. Philip explained that time and compound interest are on the side of any investor and encouraged pupils to build an investment portfolio.

FOR THE GEOGRAPHERS

‘ It was great to experience a university- style lecture ’ Rosie Prior, Upper Sixth pupil

The Geographical Association facilitated several talks and speakers including Dr Sneha Krishnan of the University of Oxford, Professor Dominique Moran of the University of Birmingham, and Dr Ben Caldecott, Director of the Oxford Sustainable Finance Group, covering topics from carceral geography to sustainability. In November, Professor Katie Willis from Royal Holloway spoke on the causes and consequences of international migration. Rosie Prior, Upper Sixth pupil, said that ‘it was great to experience a university-style lecture’ and particularly enjoyed Professor Willis joining them for a workshop in class on current affairs. Later in the year, we welcomed Dr Serna Masino, a Senior Lecturer of the University of Westminster, to speak at the double-edged nature of globalisation.

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FOR THE FORWARD-THINKERS

As part of the Inspiring Futures Series, the Careers Department hosted a range of visitors from diverse sectors to share their career journeys with pupils. Maggie Levien, an award-winning designer who has worked with brands such as Osborne and Little, offered two workshops. Olga Vysokova, founder of Women Who Inspire and co-founder of the Global Next Gen Community, spoke about the challenges and opportunities for women in finance, whilst Selim Kemahli OSE spoke on his career in extreme sports film production. The Olivier Hall was transformed into the Crown Court of St Edward’s for a full-scale mock trial, led by recently retired Judge Simon Freeland KC and barrister Anne Studd KC. Camillo Attenborough, Fourth Form pupil, commented, ‘The best part was that every single pupil who wanted to be involved got to take part […] We are all thoroughly grateful to have received such invaluable first-hand experience!’.

‘ The best part was that every single pupil who wanted to be involved got to take part ’ Camillo Attenborough, Fourth Form pupil

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From touring Sri Lanka with their cricket bats, to strolling the galleries in New York City, trips this year have taken pupils across the country and beyond. Travelling to the capital, History and Politics pupils visited Westminster and viewed the tombs of several key figures in Tudor history, learning about how burial monuments can give insights into their political and religious contexts. FOR THE EXPLORERS

research centre, and visited one of CERN’s nine detectors, ALICE, which is dedicated to heavy ion collisions in an experiment designed to study the conditions that are thought to have existed directly after the big bang. Later in the autumn, a group of Upper Sixth pupils taking Italian ab initio as part of their IB course enjoyed six days in the beautiful city of Florence. Each morning they worked on their Italian, followed by cultural visits to sites such as the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria.

Going further afield, our young physicists flew to Geneva to visit the CERN nuclear

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OXFORD – A UNIVERSITY CITY

The city of Oxford is an ever present influence on school life. Pupils have the opportunity to visit parts of the University and to attend lectures within the colleges and faculties. This year pupils attended an open Alfred Landecker Trust lecture hosted by the Blavatnik’s School of Government and given by the journalist Jonathan Freedland. Freedland spoke about Rudolf Vrba, a Slovak-Jewish biochemist who, as a teenager in 1942, was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland. George Wright, Fifth Form pupil, commented that ‘this was a hugely insightful talk. I found it thought-provoking, and I think I can say the same for everyone in that room.’ Oxford is home to numerous museums and galleries, each situated within a short distance of the School. This year, pupils studying Jewellery at A Level visited the Museum of Natural History and the adjoining Pitt Rivers Museum to investigate a range of artefacts to inspire their work. Several trips were made to the Ashmolean Museum for those studying Classics. Visiting the Western

Art Print Room, a group of Art History pupils were blown away by 500-year-old sketches from some of the old masters – ‘to see the works of art we are studying in the flesh was awesome’ (Grace Vaughan Williams, Upper Sixth pupil). Oscar Piney, also in the Upper Sixth, remarked that ‘as we returned to school on the bus, chatter was lively on the beauty of what we had seen, and our sheer luck in attending a school only 15 minutes away from such a place of magic.’ The North Wall Arts Centre, built on the site of the School’s Victorian swimming pool, has a dynamic and inspirational public theatre, gallery and artist development programme. Theatre-lovers also have access to the Oxford Playhouse, which has been at the epicentre of the arts in Oxford since it was opened in 1938. This year the pupils saw Please Right Back , fresh off the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and a witty retelling of Jane Austen’s classic in Pride and Prejudice (Sort Of) ; both of which they used to develop their review skills.

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‘ Our sheer luck in attending a school only 15 minutes away from such a place of magic ’ Oscar Piney, Upper Sixth pupil

OXFORD FELLOWS

The Super-Curriculum at Teddies is supported by our St Edward’s Fellows, postgraduate students at the University of Oxford who work as part-time teachers at the School as well as doing their doctoral research.

The Fellows’ contributions to academic enrichment activities, such as seminars, societies and lectures, foster curiosity in those who wish to look beyond the core curriculum and inspire pupils to be academically ambitious. In addition to their teaching responsibilities, St Edward’s Fellows support Sixth Formers with applications to Oxford, Cambridge and US universities.

Three years ago St Edward’s launched Time to Read, a whole-school initiative designed to make reading for pleasure a central part of pupils’ lives. Weekly sessions are timetabled across Shell to Lower Sixth year groups, with pupils and staff reading together in Houses or the Library. The strategy has three main goals. First, it supports wellbeing, offering time for calm, READING STRATEGY

imagination, and empathy through stories and ideas. It also promotes intellectual growth, strengthening vocabulary, literacy, and cultural knowledge. Finally, it builds a community of readers where books spark dialogue and connections across the School. By embedding reading into the school week, pupils develop a love of books and establish habits that will enrich their education and wellbeing for life.

St Edward’s School, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 7NN stedwardsoxford.org

Registered Charity No: 309681

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