XX Group
The XX is the School's academic extension society for Junior Scholars. Academic Scholars form the core of the society's membership, whilst other pupils are selected on the merits of their academic performance and on recommendations from Teachers, Tutors and Housemasters.
Meetings are held weekly, and the entire year's programme is designed to provide Scholars with fascinating and extended insight across a broad range of subjects. Knowledge is valued, and Scholars are encouraged to value questions even more: intellectual enquiry being the process by which knowledge is unearthed through innovation and invention. Weekly meetings expose the scholars to a range of discussion topics presented by experts and enthusiasts alike, and also provide intellectual challenge through mental exercises such as logic games, Mensa puzzles and real-world problem solving.
Each year's highlight comes in the Summer term, when each Scholar presents an independent research project to the entire School. These projects are the culmination of much strong and extended research into captivating and intriguing areas of study, as well as fore-thought into the manner of presentation. Past project titles have included:
- The Science of Sleep
- The Art Behind Optical Illusions
- An Investigation of Top-Spin
- The Psychology of Argument
- An Evaluation of Theories Concerning the Bermuda Triangle
- Is Sugar-Free Actually Healthy?
Weekly meetings are supplemented by a series of trips throughout the year, which are intended to provide Scholars with exciting opportunities for discovery and to foster a spirit of intellectual curiosity and investigation. These trips, past and present, have included:
- A tour of the Houses of Parliament (including an ascent up the Clock Tower to see Big Ben)
- A day of workshops at The Old Vic Theatre
- An opportunity to investigate the world's knowledge at the British Library
- A day researching the news and producing a newspaper at The Guardian
- A visit to some of the closed-access Temples at Stowe Landscape Gardens
- A chance to explore Raymond Blanc's restaurant, Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons
- An afternoon inspecting the treasures of the Ashmolean Museum
Master in charge: Mr Michael Rickner (Third Form) and Mr Iain Young (Fourth and Fifth Form)