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ACADEMIC MATTERS
Religion & Philosophy
We began the year feeling enormously proud of our Upper Sixth and Fifth Year students who had worked so tirelessly, despite the challenges which Covid brought. This year has been full of exciting enrichment opportunities for our students, including a new Fourth Year trip to the Kingston Quaker centre where we received a warm welcome and copious amount of cake. Our students were welcomed into the meeting room where they asked some brilliant questions about war, the nature of God and the way in which Quakers interpret the Bible. We look forward to more projects and events with the Quakers in the future. In January, Mr Lawrence hosted another excellent Holocaust Memorial Event for our Third Years; sadly, Covid prevented our visitors, Bob and Ann Kirk, from coming to the school in person. But, rather than cancel the event, they wanted to tell their moving and hopeful story of surviving the Holocaust to the students via a specially recorded film. The theme for this year was ‘One Day’ so Bob and Ann spoke about that one day when they left everything and everyone that they knew and loved behind, boarded the Kindertransport and came to live in England. They never saw their parents again. The students were struck by their dignity and courage and were hugely impacted by meeting these two incredible people who had lived in Nazi Germany and all the horrors this brought.
We have been friends with Bob and Ann for a number of years now and when the lockdown restrictions were lifted the Head Master invited them for tea in his study to thank them for their dedication and service in sharing their story with KGS on Holocaust Memorial Day over the years.
We have been friends with Bob and Ann for a number of years now and when the lockdown restrictions were lifted the Head Master invited them for tea in his study.
Our Sixth Form Philosophy club, Touchstone, continues to thrive under the leadership of Dr Sheehy, as Jemima Jordan, a regular attendee and Oxford (Theology) applicant attests: ‘Topics for discussion have included “Is there an objective standard of goodness?” and “Is the removal of statues ever justified?” Having finished my Extended Project Qualification on the ethics of prenatal screening, I decided to present on this topic. This gave me a chance to mention my conversation with Jane Fisher, director of Antenatal Results and Choices (the only national charity helping parents and healthcare professionals through prenatal screening), who I had
KINGSTONIAN 2021/22
interviewed as part of my research for the project. I threw several questions at the Touchstone group, including “Is prenatal screening discriminatory?”, “Is screening a slippery slope to even more selective abortions and designer babies?” and “Is screening contemporary eugenics?”. It was a fiery debate indeed! Discussions in Touchstone never fail to be interesting and stimulating and they always challenge us to think more deeply about the topic in question and to develop our own opinions.’ Beyond this, it is also wonderful to see so many of our students taking up the many extra-curricular opportunities that are available to them within the world of Philosophy and Ethics, both online and, more recently, in person. In February, several of our students travelled to the Emmanuel Centre to hear Richard Dawkins in conversation with Robin Ince, about a range of topics from natural selection to misinformation. Unsurprisingly, our students relayed that Dawkins’ key message was “the only reason to believe anything is evidence”! We look forward to another exciting year ahead, packed full of speakers, trips and intelligent debate, uninhibited by lockdown restrictions. Mrs C Williams, Head of Religion & Philosophy
