Impressive Presentations at Senior IRP Final 2024

The Senior Independent Research Project final, the most anticipated event of the academic year took place as we reconvened after half term break.  This year for the first time we invited members of the Lower Sixth to submit a project and as a result we had over 70 submissions from all areas of the curriculum and beyond.  All entries were excellent examples of academic curiosity and intellectual exploration which made shortlisting incredibly challenging.  Fifteen of those projects were awarded highly commended having been read by relevant Heads of Department and the Senior Academic Enrichment team, Dr Marc Scott and Mrs Becky Hunter.  Our seven finalists, Scarlet, Alexander, Isla, Simi, Isabelle and Petrus from the Upper Sixth and Millie from the Lower Sixth then presented their projects to the audience and an esteemed panel of judges, Dan Kennedy, Preya Jubraj and Nicola Masters. 

Dan studied Law and Italian at University and is a partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, a global law firm, which specialises in finance.   Preya holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Computing & IT and works in the Financial Services sector, initially as a Management Consultant at Accenture and is currently at Baringa.  Preya also holds a School Governor position at Copthorne Prep School as well as being a member of the Caterham School Foundation.  Nicola is a Chartered Civil Engineer who currently works as a strategic consultant in Construction Innovation and Performance, supporting UK infrastructure providers including Network Rail, TfL, National Highways and Lower Thames crossing to optimise the efficiency & sustainability of our built environment.  I am extremely grateful to them for giving up their time, not only on the evening itself, to judge the presentations, but also for their work adjudicating the written projects in advance.  

The finalists had only seven minutes to present and a further seven minutes to respond to the judges’ and audience questions.  They were marked on the quality of research and response to their chosen question for the written submission and on their presentation’s content, quality of delivery and response to questions.  All of our finalists spoke with passion and confidence about their chosen subjects, making some incredibly complex topics intelligible to the wider audience, which is no mean feat, especially given the time restraints.  They handled the challenging questions with ease showing the ability to think on their feet and consider the implications of the research they had done and the way in which current affairs, technological advancements may impact their area of study.  With such strong performances from all of the students choosing three winners was never going to be easy.  However, the judges awarded Isabelle P (Upper Sixth) first place, Isla M (Upper Sixth) second place and Millie B (Lower Sixth) third place.  With Petrus C (Upper Sixth) winning the audience vote.  Many congratulations to all of our winners and indeed to our finalists; there is no doubt that we will be hearing great things from them in the future

Winners:

Izzy (U6):  To what extent does Aphantasia affect the human experience (First Place)

Isla (U6):  Which mathematical theorems have the most proofs? (Second Place)

Millie (L6):  Can a proposition be both true and false at the same time? (Third Place)

Petrus (U6):  Can our political institutions solve climate change? (Audience Vote)

Finalists:

Simi (U6):  How does darkness create unease in a cinematic image?

Alexander (U6):  How have Semiconductors changed our world?

Scarlet (U6):  What was the driving factor of the evolution of modern language?

Highly Commended:

Spencer T (L6):  To what extent will Labour’s plans to remove the VAT exemption from private schools improve social mobility in the United Kingdom?      

Isabella B (L6):  Type 1 Diabetes – Why do teenagers struggle to accept it?

Amelia G (U6):  Trials, Torture and Terror: Was the Spanish Inquisition as prolific as traditionally believed during its inception 1469-1516?”      

Hazel L(U6):  Why do civilisations collapse? Is our civilisation in danger?

Anna H (U6):  What is nonreligious spirituality?       

Ellie M (U6):  How effective was NATO peacekeeping in Afghanistan and Iraq?     

Oliver K (U6):  Which medium more powerfully conveys the reality of lived experience: graphic novels or prose?

Kirill P (U6):  How did multicellular life emerge on earth?    

Emily B (U6): “Why cry for a soul set free?” 

Franchesca C (U6):  How should you design a streamlined car without offending the art critics of the 1930s?           

Aidan   T (U6):  Gauge Symmetry in Electromagnetism        

Elyna   G (U6):  How can the Orang Asli influence the architecture of Urban environments?

Darryl W (U6):  Effects of electric motor stator temperature on power and degradation investigation     

Vivienne C (L6):  What was Simone de Beauvoir’s theory in the Second Sex and how has it impacted future waves of feminism?   

Lilly W (U6)     “What was the Most Significant Ideology to the Different Vietnamese Factions; Nationalism or Communism, and How did it Affect the Local Struggle?”      Highly commended

Mrs Webster