Academic The Cheltonian 2023-24

Students at College have shown tremendous talent and determination to gain places at the most prestigious institutions for their chosen discipline.

Cheltonians never disappoint in ambition or scope for Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) ideas.

‘Form Square!’ is not a cry that has resounded much from within College precincts since the 1880s.

At the start of the academic year College launched a new model for grouping academic Departments into faculties. The first new faculty to be established was the STEM Faculty.

This year we’ve expanded opportunities for our pupils with teams participating in prestigious competitions such as the Cambridge Biology Challenge and the Science in Medicine School Teams Prize by Homerton College, Cambridge and Imperial College London.

Chemistry is a word that iconically conjures up images of lab coats and conical flasks filled with colourful solutions. Indeed, the Chemistry teachers and technicians have been busy with countless experiments and demos to illustrate the underlying theory being taught in the classrooms

The Department has had another great crop of A Level and GCSE pupils, completing a range of interesting and fun projects.

The Department has gone from strength to strength with creativity flourishing under the guidance of Mrs Sarah Tradgett, Miss Noleen Farmer and Mrs Rebecca Evely, supported by their skilled technicians Miss Eunice Wilson and Mrs Grace Gatley.

The Department continues to enjoy success in national Mathematical competitions. Every year we enter the UKMT challenges, these papers are designed to test not only mathematical skills and knowledge but also ingenuity.

Our motto ‘Challenge and Wonder’ perfectly summarises the successes that have been achieved this year in the Physics Department.

This year’s Summer Art Exhibition was a brilliant representation of free-thinking visual communication. It showcased our pupils’ growth as individuals through studying Art.

The Business and Economics Departments returned to Cuba following two previous trips in 2016 and 2018. Our trip to Havana, Viñales, and Playa Larga was an enriching journey that provided 18 Sixth Form students with a diverse array of experiences.

It has been another strong year for Classics. We welcomed Mrs Katherine Coates and her infectious love of Latin, Greek and Classical Civilisation to the team.

The Department ran the CISI Fundamentals of Financial Services Qualification as an elective for Lower Sixth students.

Geography continues to engage College pupils with the contemporary issues of the day. The subject continues to be a hugely popular option within College and the Department has enjoyed another very successful year.

For this year’s AC Bradley Shakespeare Memorial Lecture, we welcomed scholar Professor Emma Smith, Fellow at Hertford College, Oxford, who gave us a fascinating lecture ‘Tragic Men? Toxic Men? Shakespeare’s tragedies and masculinity’.

The unveiling of the restored portrait of OC Edward Wilson (Day Boy, 1891) by Hugh Goldwin Riviere with his father OC Briton Riviere (Day Boy, 1858) in the Library set the tempo for a prosperous year in this subject. In conjunction with the restorers, Mr Nick Nelson outlined the fascinating history behind the Riviere’s magnum opus College is fortunate enough to own.

Doris Wang richly deserved this year’s Cheltonian Endowment Trust Prize. Having started her College career a disembodied voice on the other side of the world.

Third Form pupils were thrown into the pBone Project at the start of the year and made quick progress in their playing of plastic trombones whilst developing their listening and ensemble skills.

It has been a busy year in the Department, with a number of notable highlights.

The year started with a meditation on the British Constitution from the foremost authority on the matter, Sir Vernon Bogdanor, research professor at the Institute for Contemporary British History at King’s College London and emeritus professor of politics and government at the University of Oxford.

In September, Miss Lara Beere, and our incredible students warmly welcomed Miss Shelley Carr and me (Ms Lissa Rogers), as two new members of our team of just three.

It has been a tremendously busy year again in Drama with the usual trips, workshops, performances and the everyday task of preparing our GCSE and A Level pupils for public exams.

Sports Science continues to thrive at College. Numbers are strong for the coming year’s Lower Sixth plus a new cohort of Third Form pupils will start the GCSE course.

In the Autumn Term, Professor Adrian Moore visited College to lecture on ‘Immortality and Infinity.’

Applications from 168 students were submitted by the Higher Education (HE) team to UK universities and conservatoires.

For a celebration of some very interesting and exciting futures’ choices, read on!