Enriching the academic experience
An important aspect of a ‘whole person’ education is enriching the academic learning experience outside the classroom in a variety of ways. This includes trips away, bringing experts in to speak and encourage curiosity and empowering students to run, or set up, their own societies to explore and inspire others in the subjects which interest them most.
Schools of Empire Project
Schools of Empire: Class and Colonialism, c.1750–c.1945 is a 5-year project that seeks to explore the historical intersection of education and empire, focusing on the themes of class, colonialism, gender, and race. The direction of the Schools of Empire project is overseen by an independent academic advisory board.
Simultaneously drawing on the rich resources of the Rugby School Archives and bringing together a network of partner schools, their archives, and universities, one of the central aims of the project is to facilitate and support independent research. Internship programmes are at the heart of the project, and contribute to Rugby School’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. In collaboration with the AHRC and the Crankstart Foundation at the University of Oxford, Schools of Empire provides opportunities for doctoral researchers and undergraduate students to access the archives of Rugby and other public schools. Interns’ independent research projects employ intersectional approaches to class, gender and race, and the school provides on-site training in digitisation, archival handling and preservation. Pupils also get involved in this research as part of their community outreach programme.
The project has been recognised in the Highlights of The National Archives’ Year in Archives 2021 and won the Boarding Schools’ Association Award for Best New INDEX (Inclusivity and Diversity Excellence) Initiative 2022.
Enrichment, an important aspect of a Rugby education.
Visiting Speakers
Every term there is a new set of visiting speakers, these range from astronomers to poet laureates.
Trips
Trips are organised across the UK and around the world. For example, the Modern Foreign Languages department run various trips to Europe and the Art History department trips have included New York and Rome.
Societies
There are many societies on offer to students, and if one doesn’t exist? Students are encouraged to find it themselves.
Here are some examples
- Debating; Engineering; English; Geography; Landor; Law; Medicine; Psychology; Temple Society
Student-led Publications
Students are also encouraged to produce their own subject-led publications, writing content, sourcing material and designing covers. Below are a recent selection – please click on the covers to view in full.
The Extended Project Qualification
The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) was developed here at Rugby through the pilot perspectives on Science Qualification and now embraces all aspects of the curriculum. Sixth Form students enjoy the refreshing contrast between traditional exams and the opportunity to develop an extended piece of research in an area that really interests them.