Another busy year for the 1532 Society

Mrs Karen Leetch, Head of Scholars, reports on the 1532 Society’s activities over the past year:“Year 12 meetings (always crammed to the gunnels, with 30 scholars) started the year with a thought-provoking and interactive presentation on “The Oxbridge Brain” by flamboyant educational consultant George Casley. Throughout the year they were supported with their personal statements and encouraged to write for the SES blog. The group have additionally enjoyed listening to some superb presentations by their fellow scholars on topics of their interest.“Highlights of the Year 11 programme included visiting Christ’s College, Cambridge. The group were treated to a huge lunch in the college buttery, a tour of the college and a very informative introduction to Oxbridge by the schools’ liaison officer, Dr Mark King. The boys also particularly enjoyed an enthusiastic talk from Year 12 scholar Oscar D-S about his EPQ on antimicrobial resistance.“Year 10 1532 Society enjoyed presentations by Old Stamfordians Adam C and Giorgio R, who shared their enthusiasm for their respective academic specialisms and inspired the boys to give their own presentations later in the year.“Year 9 have enjoyed a session on “fake news” and spent the spring term working on their individual projects. Several scholars created their own project title this year (in the style of an EPQ) and the results were fascinating. Topics ranged from “How and why does PTSD have an impact on the brain?”, the positive aspects of autism, a WWI trench diorama and “Is Vladimir Putin the sanest world leader today?” to “How does language affect personality?” In the summer term, the project prize winners relished the opportunity to present their projects at the scholars’ assembly.“Year 7 and 8 scholars have enjoyed a varied programme, including a harrowing talk about growing up in East Berlin by Mrs Chauvaux; a Russian decoding session, and talks by head boy Sam B, scholars’ prefects Toby R and Jacob W and the Year 9 scholars. The younger scholars are always enthralled to hear about the academic enthusiasms of older Stamfordians and its inspiring to see their genuine curiosity. They truly embody the spirit of what it means to be an academic scholar at Stamford!”The 1532 society, made up of scholars from Year 7 to 12, meet once a fortnight to engage in co-curricular discussion, debate and creative thinking. All scholars from Year 10 upwards benefit from a yearly interview, discussing their academic progress, supra-curricular activities and to receive advice at their key decision-making stages, such as A Level and higher educational choices.