OHS Inspires
We’re thrilled to introduce our OHS Inspires programme, which takes our Sixth Form offering to new heights. Our Sixth Form students can dive into exciting masterclasses, covering a spectrum of subjects like the History of Art, Languages, Literature, Social Sciences, Classics, Science, and Medicine.
OHS Inspires Mentors
This year we have appointed OHS Inspires Mentors to enhance our programme of extended research in the Sixth Form. OHS Inspires Mentors are academics who can share their experience of research and knowledge to guide them through their Extended Research Project. So far we have specialists in History of Art, languages, literature, social science and Classics in post and have a scientist and medic about to join. If you would like to find out more, you can read their full bios here. In addition to supervising our Sixth Form students in their Extended Research Projects, OHS Inspires Mentors offer a range of exciting masterclasses open to all students in Year 10, Year 11 and Sixth Form.
Masterclasses
Our new series of masterclasses builds on our well-established tradition of academic excellence, and provides our students with further opportunities to embrace intellectual challenge and go beyond GCSE and A level.
The masterclasses enable students to deepen their knowledge and understanding, explore their interests and engage critically with a wide range of disciplines to be ready for the next stage of their education journey at top selecting universities. Each masterclass is delivered by one of our OHS Inspires Mentors, a group of academics who are also supervising our Sixth Form students in their extended research projects.
This term’s masterclasses have a focus on languages and the humanities, giving students in Year 10 upwards opportunities to ask fundamental questions about the nature of humanity, explore links between language and identity, examine the role of images, and the development of language and literary genres from the Middle Ages to the present day. Each series of masterclasses is a series of 4 or 5 sessions run at lunchtime or after school, and we expect students to commit to the whole series so that they can get the maximum benefit from them.
Next term’s programme includes opportunities in STEM and as the academic year progresses, we will continue to add to the programme to ensure that the masterclasses cover a range of different areas and disciplines to reflect our students’ diverse and varied academic interests.
Our Masterclass programme is ideal for students in Years 10 -13:
| Positive Psychology: Can we study how we to be happier, better selves?
Day/Time: Monday at 12.20pm Room: Hypatia |
How can we be happy? How can we live well? How can we grow as humans? We all want to know, except academics, who across all subjects decided they shouldn’t study mushy, positive things. But things have changed, and the science of happiness, the history of gratitude, the psychology of humour and many other positive aspects of what allows us to flourish are now blossoming. So come find out about the newest research into well-being, with an emphasis on ‘character strengths’: virtues and traits like leadership, love, or self-discipline that we all possess and can all cultivate further. |
| German Literature
Day/Time: Monday at 4pm Room: Pankhurst
|
German poetry through the ages. In this series, we will look at German poetry from the Middle Ages up to the 20th century. The aim is to give you a broad understanding of periods in German literary history and apply skills you may have learned in poetry analysis in English classes to German material. You encounter some of the most significant figures in German literature. We work with the texts in the original form, but provide you with the vocabulary, and sometimes we will look at translations of the poems to consider the extent to which poetry is something that can be translated.
Week 1: The Baroque: Fleming An Sich |
| Big Ideas
Day/Time: Wednesday at 12.20pm Room: Hypatia
|
Come along to explore and debate big ideas from across the humanities and social sciences. We’ll delve into important topical issues and some abstract nonsense too. What are our values based on? Do you have any control over your own actions? Why does the economy need to grow? What makes someone a woman or a man? And why are we living in this computer simulation anyway? From the Enlightenment to the existentialists, from Marxism to post-colonialism, week by week we’ll tackle modern western thought through accessible (and maybe even fun) discussions – while, all the time, sitting on chairs that may or may not exist… |
| French or Francophone? An Introduction to Postcolonial Poet(h)ics
Day/Time: Wednesday at 12.20pm Room: Lovelace
|
In this series of masterclasses, we will explore la francophonie – the French-speaking world beyond mainland France, which is often a neglected or marginalised aspect of French syllabi. You will have the chance to discover the rich array of literary and cinematic production from former (and even current) French colonies around the world, ranging from classic novels to contemporary poetry to ‘new wave’ film. As we discuss these works and the issues they raise, we will not only partake in textual analysis but also learn to think critically about (post)colonial politics and histories, interrogating current language debates and even delving into a bit of French philosophy and translation practice as we go! Focusing predominantly on North and West Africa, we will investigate how cultural and political tensions are both refracted and challenged in contemporary literature and cinema. So come and explore the francophone world with me – j’ai hâte de vous voir bientôt! |
| Big Themes in Art History
Day/Time: Friday at 12.20pm Room: Lovelace |
This course will expand your visual and historical imagination with loads of discussion. We will trace major themes in art history using examples of paintings, both ancient and modern, from across the globe. How do different people and cultures understand themselves through portraiture? Is there any objective standard of beauty? Why do some artists aspire to illusion and others reject it? How do art and politics intersect? What connects landscape in art with people’s sense of memory and identity? Our discussion-based classes will seek to draw connections and explore contrasts, and help you to articulate your own thoughts about art.
Week 1: Portraiture |
Click here to read about our mentors