The Chronicle, No. 668, September 2015

18 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

Trading Places The Teddies Exchange Programme

Celia Hodgson

By Fiona Wickens, Head of Sixth Form and Exchange Co-ordinator

The St Edward’s international exchange programme offers our pupils an extraordinary adventure. Each year, six Lower Sixth pupils host visitors from America, Australia and India, benefitting in turn from a month abroad as a house guest and a member of a very different school community. Pupils join exchange partners at leading independent schools: Gilman School and Roland Park Country School in Baltimore, Maryland; Goulburn Valley Grammar School, Melbourne, Australia; and The Doon School and Welham Girls’ School, Dehradun, India. Pupils visiting The Doon enjoy the engaging and reflective atmosphere of this

much renowned school, acclaimed for its commitment to creating future leaders. Those visiting India also usually spend a week touring with their host families prior to the start of The Doon’s term. Pupils returning from the USA and Australia meanwhile effervesce with the excitement of all the activities they have participated in and the hospitality of their exchange families. Those planning to study in the USA have also greatly appreciated visits to American universities. Pupils return energised by the confidence they have gained and the richness of their experiences. For further details about exchange opportunities, please email wickensf@stedwardsoxford.org

Jagit Singh from The Doon School

Expanding Horizons By Fiona Wickens, Head of the Woodstock Group

The Woodstock Group is the senior society for scholars and exhibitioners though all members of the Fifth and Sixth Forms are welcome to attend. We meet fortnightly either as a whole or in smaller groups. The aim of Woodstock is to provide pupils with additional opportunities to expand their intellectual horizons. We aim to encourage lateral thinking, confidence when presented with unfamiliar and challenging material and an enhanced sense of intellectual community. This year we have, for example, enjoyed the stimulating company of Professor

Sarah Kulubya (St Andrew’s School, Kenya) on theWoodstock Group The Woodstock Group has provided me with the opportunity to flex my intellectual muscles in a stimulating and challenging environment. In addition, it has allowed me to go beyond the confines of my curriculum to explore the global issues that underpin society; as a result, I have become more open-minded and curious. As a linguist, I adore debate and the discussions within the Woodstock Group have allowed me to develop a greater appreciation of the nuances and subtleties that exist when arguing about issues of global importance. Group meeting, Upper Sixth pupils making Oxbridge applications also meet fortnightly in the Autumn Term to discuss and present their subject based interests. © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford term we will be focusing on developing an understanding and awareness of leadership skills. In addition to our Woodstock

Deborah Eyre (Former Director of the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth) as we looked at uncapped intelligence and resilience; explored the portrayal of “male” and “female” brains, and gender in the media; shared our reactions to the links between philosophy and renaissance art by studying Piero di Cosimo’s painting, The Forest Fire , and Lucretius’ poem, De Rerum Natura ; and debated the nature of freedom of speech. We have also experimented with thinking skills in Socratic circles and learnt about, and tried, Mindfulness techniques. Next

The Forest Fire by Piero di Cosimo