Members of the Lower Sixth held an extended seminar in which they discussed their Independent Academic Projects. The projects were entirely voluntary: students signed up to them while in the Fifth Form and completed them over the summer. Every student showed perseverance and diligence in their pursuit of knowledge and understanding.
All projects were of a good standard, many were extremely impressive.
Particularly notable research was completed by Aiden Grant, ‘Are monoclonal antibodies effective in our fight against cancer?’; Gina Hooton, ‘Do advances in AI and Machine Learning have a positive impact on people?’, and Alyssa Takahashi, ‘Do the pros outweigh the cons for humanity in xenotransplantation?’.
William Jackson, who investigated the evolution of the design of aircraft systems, and Jeffrey Li who travelled far into the virtual world of Object Orientated Programming, also completed excellent research.
The world of finance, economics and (dubious) entrepreneurship was explored by Waleed Alzarooni, who tracked the rise and fall of Bernie Madoff, and Iacopo Di Rico, who assessed the key ingredients of a successful business.
Finally, Alex Darwish left the realm of physics, the focus of his last project, to plunge into the dark depths of the ocean and explore how creatures had adapted to live in extreme conditions.
The whole project was overseen by Mr Jonny Bailey, Head of Lower Sixth, with expert assistance from various Heads of Department: Mr Bates, Mr Watson, Mrs Muller, Mr Telfer-Mason and Ms Biletchi.
By Mr Nick Russell, Assistant Head: Sixth Form
