Academic opportunities and successes Six St Benedict’s students received Oxbridge offers this year, 3 for Oxford and 3 for Cambridge. Moreover, government league tables published in February 2019 ranked St Benedict’s in the top 5% of all schools in the country for ‘value added’ at A level. This is better than any other state or independent school in West London. The academic curriculum at St Benedict’s is designed above all to promote a love of learning, and to encourage intellectual curiosity and openness to new ideas. The Helikon Centre for Academic Challenge continues to be an inspiring, lively hub for pupils at the school, where talks, discussions and workshops take place every week. As part of its work, Middle and Upper School pupils have this year conducted research projects as diverse as the Trojan War, ancient China, and the nature of memory. The school’s Thinking Forum has considered a wide range of topics this year, including: “Giving to Charity at Christmas should be compulsory”, “Does Prison work?” and “Is anything worth dying for?”
St Benedict’s pupils have continued to have access to a wide range of talks and presentations. These have included talks by Professor Averil McDonald, who spoke about electric cars, recyclable plastics and careers in STEM, Lord Duncan of Springbank, who gave an insight into the workings of the EU and the House of Lords, and Professor Francis Campbell, who gave a sobering talk about UK-Irish relations in the wake of Brexit. Particularly well-known speakers at St Benedict’s this year have included the historian and broadcaster Michael Wood on Why the Anglo-Saxons matter, and the Art Historian, Andrew Graham-Dixon, on Classical art.
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