The role of the Master of the Scholars, John Plowright, is to monitor the progress of all academic award holders in the School, to keep staff informed of the latest research about the development of children's minds, and to work with Heads of Department to develop the extension opportunities offered to gifted and talented students.
Whilst, of course, all pupils are consistently stretched in the course of normal classroom teaching, there are a number of societies which aim to stretch the very brightest pupils still further. Thus every department has a society which meets several times in the course of the school year, which is open to all interested parties whether or not they study the subject concerned.
These societies often arrange for outside speakers, some of considerable eminence, to address any members of the school who are interested in their field of expertise. Alternatively, members of the department can present papers or encourage the pupils themselves to take a role in leading the proceedings and stimulating debate. Several societies have arranged cross-curricular or interdisciplinary talks straddling conventional subject boundaries, such as the Biology and English departments combining to examine what is meant in their respective fields by Love, whilst the History and Modern Languages departments combined to place the short stories of Maupassant in the context of the Franco-Prussian War.
The Debating Society not only provides instruction in the skills of public speaking for those wishing to participate, but also provides an opportunity for any interested member of the School to listen to debates of a high quality and ask questions prior to voting on the merits of the cases that have been put forward.
There are two societies specifically intended to challenge and inspire the most able pupils, whose core membership is comprised of academic award holders, although each year they receive an infusion of fresh blood from those who have otherwise impressed the Common Room.
In the Lower School is the Temple Society, chaired by John Plowright, which is intended to encourage free trade in ideas and recent topics of discussion. Debates have included under-age drinking, the work of Amnesty International and animal rights.
In the Upper School is the Ramsey Society, chaired by Clifford Dammers. Membership of the Ramsey Society is based purely on the basis of recommendations from Common Room, and the Society aims to challenge and expand the horizons of the most academically gifted and inquisitive members of the Sixth Form. It is designed to hone their skills in constructing extended essays, and to help them to respond to ideas presented to them in university interviews and seminars, particularly if they are summoned to interview at Oxbridge. Pupils present papers to the Society, which lead to discussion by the group. Recent examples include Kafka’s examination of the human condition, Platonic and Aristotelian analyses of the nature of literature, and the role of human rights in modern global politics.
The various departments arrange extra classes for Sixth Formers - such as EcoPlus for Economics - for those preparing for the Advanced Extension Award (AEA) in their subject and/or applying to Oxbridge, or those merely interested in deepening and broadening their understanding of one of their A Level subjects.
The Sixth Form as a whole are encouraged to broaden their horizons beyond their examination subjects by means of a Civics programme in the Lower Sixth (embracing skills such as critical thinking and art and music appreciation) and by a series of lectures by distinguished outside speakers in the Upper Sixth such as Professor Hugh Brogan on de Tocqueville.