A number of Year 9 students demonstrated admirable perseverance and agency to complete independent projects in 2020. Despite the interruptions and difficulties that the Covid-19 lockdowns presented, WSC-NPoW students managed to extend themselves through a wide variety of independent projects that had begun to take shape before the first lockdown. Students again moved from initial mixed curriculum groups to curriculum area groups once the projects were progressing. These groups shared their works in progress with each other and provided an appreciative audience for individual enthusiasms. After initial tutorials on learning taxonomies and ways in which to build towards more complex, abstract forms of knowledge, students were encouraged to decide on a “passion project”. The following summary details the subjects that our students have a keen interest in; inverse factorials in mathematics, the complex connections between fiction and autobiography in Sylvia Plath’s writing, pinball machine design, cultural and geographic influences on different uses of pasta in China and Italy, comparing the causes and effects of 1965’s Watts riots and 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests, the comparative effectiveness of female and male leaders during the Covid-19 pandemic, how the brain produces emotion and movement, the role music played in promoting the message of the 1960s civil rights movement and the more recent Black Lives Matter movement, Plato and Aristotle’s ideas of happiness, the origins of flightless birds and house design. Fantasy world-building both in written and graphic novel form, was also pursued by students. GAT students are encouraged to apply for the many scholarships and opportunities offered by external providers. Closer to home, it has been exciting to see former independent project group members mature into leadership roles in the senior school this year. Here’s hoping that some of this year’s members go on to make important contributions to WSC-NPoW in their senior years!
