Intellectual Enrichment

Intellectual life is important for all boys at Sherborne and we hope much enrichment occurs in the normal curriculum. Nonetheless we seek to provide additional opportunities both within and beyond the curriculum to ensure a boy's intellectual development goes beyond the confines of national curricula and exam board specifications.

We offer a wide range of societies and activities that challenge the mind, whether learning a new language, solving cryptic crossword puzzles or playing bridge and chess. We also have a rich programme of visiting speakers from the cultural, political and academic world. Annual competitions in debating, literary knowledge and poetry are important moments in the school year. 'The History Boys' meet regularly, and the English Department run 'Salon' and 'Write-Club' to showcase boys' creative writing, as well as the C. Day-Lewis Society. The Science department runs a lively BAYS society, the DocSoc raises important questions of both science and ethics and there are lively debates in El Ateneo, the Hell Fire Club and Philosophers' Club, to name but a few academic societies.

In addition we run a specific programme to ensure we stretch and challenge our most able pupils. The Agora is a lively weekly meeting of Third Form scholars. In the Fifth Form a Reading Party after GCSE gives the boys the opportunity to experience new ideas and challenges at a different pace and involves visits, visitors and, of course, lots of reading. There are numerous opportunities for the Sixth Form including the Turing Society, a seminar group set up and run by the boys that holds pupil led seminars jointly with Sherborne Girls. Sixth Formers also take the lead in running a variety of other societies, writing for the various publications in the School and taking a greater interest in the wider world.

We do not know whether we have a new Whitehead, Lewis or Turing amongst us at the moment, but we want to make sure that, if we do, they have the same opportunities as they did.