Academic

As the new academic year gets underway, we’d like to recognise the achievements of students who got their exam results over the summer. Always newsworthy, this past two years’ grades have generated even closer scrutiny due to disruption caused by the pandemic.

This time we turn our attention to the academic side of school life to focus on Classics.

Eminent historian Mary Beard recently announced she would fund scholarships for two students to study Classics at Cambridge University, as a “retirement present” after almost 40 years of teaching and research. Having brought ancient history to a wider, modern audience via television, the Cambridge professor wants to help widen the reach of Classics as a subject.

A recent newsletter from Rossall School reminded us it could be worth highlighting the fact that British boarding schools are suitable for everyone. Of course we could be wrong, but there may be an idea that all schools are highly selective, with daunting entrance examinations ensuring only the most academic of pupils are accepted.

While some UK schools reopened to limited numbers of pupils on Monday 1^st June, for most the new term sees them resuming their home-based online learning. This is being delivered in a number of ways over a variety of digital platforms, so we thought we’d feature a few examples.

All of us here at Dickinson School Consulting hope that you and yours are staying well at this difficult time.

The coronavirus, and trying to avoid it, is affecting life everywhere in a wide variety of ways and we wanted to provide a brief update as to how the British boarding schools we work with are responding to its many challenges.

The Sixth Form is the pinnacle of any school. Bridging that gap between childhood and adulthood, preparing the young people in their care for arguably some of the toughest exams of their lives and for life beyond school, all the British boarding schools we work with challenge their Sixth Form students to achieve their potential and be excellent role models for their younger pupils.

Truro High School for Girls recently informed us that it is hosting the international debut of an interactive, residential, medical experience this summer – Future Medics LIVE.

Aimed at preparing the next generation of medical, dental and veterinary professionals to gain places on these highly competitive courses, the brand-new, week-long course will offer delegates the chance to follow an in-depth medical course, set in simulated emergency situations and surgery facilities.

August is all about A Level and GCSE results, and with so much good news coming in from the British boarding schools we recommend, we’re pleased to pass on some highlights from just a couple of the schools that shared theirs with us.

While the summer holidays can be an anxious time for those awaiting their A Level results in August, International Baccalaureate Diploma students already know their fate, having received their results on Saturday 6^th July. A good number of the British boarding schools we recommend offer the IB and a couple have shared those results with us.

The reasons families choose British boarding schools for their children’s educations are many and varied. Here we focus on the excellent support that potential medical students can receive, using Stonyhurst College’s MedSoc 2020 as an example.

Throughout this academic year, Stonyhurst’s Year 12/Lower 6^th students have attended a number of sessions organised by the College’s Careers Advisor, in order to prepare them for making strong, competitive medical school applications.