Challenge and More Able

Year 10 Students Graduate from King's College, University of London!

Congratulations to all the Year 10 students who graduated with distinction from the Brilliant Scholars programme. This term, students worked closely with geneticist Dr Jacob Knyspel on “Finding Clues to Causality in Medical Research”, with research focused on the links between genetics and mental health. 

Dr Knyspel says:

"It was an absolute delight to teach this term's Brilliant Club cohort. Over a period of five weeks, students completed a challenging university-style course about medical research. They performed exceptionally. Everyone submitted excellent final assignments, achieving the highest average grade of any school I have tutored. This was a true testament to the students' hard work, commitment, and curiosity. They and their families should be incredibly proud."

As part of the programme, these students attended a prestigious graduation ceremony at Guy's campus, King's College, University of London, one of the top seats of learning in the UK. Szymon K further excelled by delivering a speech on his experiences to an audience of academics and students - please find linked below.

Please also find the reflections of Asiri CK here:

On Wednesday 3rd of July the Brilliant Scholars went to King College, Guy’s Campus for our graduation. It was a campus none of us had previously visited, and the tour definitely helped us get an understanding of a university's layout, and how students navigate this. The day also entailed us reflecting on our achievements during the programme, which helped me find a new appreciation for the skills I had learnt and refined throughout, showing me how to apply them beyond an academic setting. The day ended with our graduation ceremony and student speeches from a range of schools. I liked how this showed the range of students the programme caters to and how the benefits of a programme like this vary. I think the day, and programme as a whole, allowed us to explore our capabilities as students, and how there is something university can supply for each of us, despite our differences and preconceptions.

Asiri CK, 10DA

Brilliant Year 7 Scholars Graduate at King’s College, University of London!

St Michael’s is celebrating the success of fourteen Year 7 students as they graduate from The Scholars Programme, a national university access programme. These students were encouraged to think and work independently across seven tutorials with a subject expert PhD researcher. During the programme, they studied a Philosophy-focussed module on the question: “Are we living in the real world?” and then completed a challenging final essay which was given a university-level grade. All fourteen students graduated and were singled out for praise from their PhD tutor. As a reward, these students attended a prestigious graduation ceremony at King’s College, University of London. Isabella Cruz-Bertora and Maya Balaidi further distinguished themselves by delivering articulate and inspiring speeches to an audience of academics, undergraduate students and other schools. Their speeches are linked below. Please do congratulate all these students when you see them!

Mr Magnoff

What is reality, anyway?

…Ask the Year 7s who have just completed the Scholars Programme!

Is the world we live in real? Or are we living in a simulation? How could we know, and does it matter? During Autumn Term, a group of 14 curious Year 7s embarked on a philosophical exploration of these questions with PhD tutor Mandeep Sidhu, as part of the Scholars Programme by the Brilliant Club. The Scholars Programme supports students to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to secure a place at a competitive university

Through 7 university style philosophy seminars in two groups of 7, students learnt the fundamentals of deductive logic and engaged in thought experiments to debate whether engaging with technology makes life any less real. For instance, if you could plug into an immersive ‘experience machine’ which guarantees happiness instead of living your current life, would you? Would your experiences be any less authentic than what we experience in the everyday?

Students put their newly developed philosophical skills to the test by completing a challenging university-style 1500 word philosophy essay over the Christmas break. The group performed exceptionally well, evidencing a particular flair for sophisticated critical thinking. They celebrated their successful completion of the Scholars Programme by attending a graduation ceremony hosted by King’s College London on 7 February. Congratulations, philosophers!

Dr Mandeep Sidhu, Kings College, University of London

Please find Beau Morris’ reflections on the day below:

I loved the Brilliant Scholars Graduation Ceremony trip because of the many great things that happened! The graduation event, the tour of the campus and the too many photos I took! I enjoyed talking to my fellow scholars and bonding on points of philosophy and memory. The campus building was really interesting both inside and outside, which as a result of bomb damage in WW2, reflected different times and histories from the past 300 years! I also loved the tour of all the amazing sights: The beautiful university chapel, the Hello-Kitty exhibition at Somerset House, the comically-sized chessboard, the statue of Sophocles and above all the lion university mascot that was bought from a charity shop for £7! I also loved the announcements set up for the ceremony and it felt wonderful to come up and be awarded our certificates as graduates of The Brilliant Scholars Program. Thank you Mr Magnoff and Dr Sidhu…I can’t wait to do this again in 10 years time!

Beau M, 7SA

Year 10 Students Graduate from University of Southampton!

Congratulations to all the Year 10 students who graduated with distinction from the Brilliant Scholars programme. This term, students worked closely with neuroscientist Dr Andrew Graham on “Why we age and how we can stop it”, with research focused on the treatment of dementia other conditions associated with ageing. As part of the programme, these students attended a prestigious graduation ceremony at the University of Southampton, one of the top seats of learning in the UK and the place of work of world famous academic Professor Tim Berbers-Lee - the inventor of the internet! Ash G-O’D and Sedonna H further excelled by delivering speeches on their experiences to an audience of academics and students - please find linked below.

Please find the reflections of Crystel G and Ruby T below:

The brilliant scholar's graduation trip to the University of Southampton was a very memorable and eye opening experience. Once we got there, students from the university were there to walk us through an informative presentation about the school. They answered so many of our questions, including advice that they would give to us about university. This allowed all the students that were there to see what life was like for a Southampton student and helped us to see ourselves in university in the future. Then we went on a tour of the beautiful campus where we saw the massive libraries that are filled with around 2 million books. To conclude the day, we went back to the main hall and graduated. After being in the Brilliant Scholars program this year and learning about the different aspects of ageing, the graduation was a brilliant way to end the course. It allowed all the students to acknowledge all the hard work we had put into the program and in the course we took. The ageing course St Michael’s students took was something that has trained me and other scholars alike in the discipline it takes to write a 2,000 word essay. It also taught us how to organise information and structure essays in a way we can use for university. Overall, the experience allowed students in secondary school to learn about and write university level material. It grants us the opportunity for all of us to be well rounded scholars and shows us and others what we were capable of

Ruby T and Crystel G, 10DA

Brilliant Year 7 Scholars Graduate at King’s College, University of London!

St Michael’s is celebrating the success of fourteen Year 7 students as they graduate from The Scholars Programme, a national university access programme. These students were encouraged to think and work independently across seven tutorials with a subject expert PhD researcher. During the programme, they studied a History focussed module on “Windrush, Migration and Belonging in Modern Britain” and then completed a challenging final essay which was given a university-level grade. All fourteen students graduated and were singled out for praise from their PhD tutor. As a reward, these students attended a prestigious graduation ceremony at King’s College, Guy’s Campus, University of London. Shyann Mensah and Adham Abdulmenan further distinguished themselves by delivering articulate and inspiring speeches to an audience of academics, undergraduate students and other schools. Their speeches are linked below. Please do congratulate all these students when you see them!

Mr Magnoff

Please find Filip Stanczyk’s reflections on the day below:

On Tuesday 21st February 2023, all fourteen students from the Brilliant Scholars programme became alumni from this event. This event took place in the King’s College London Medical Campus. To add on, this experience was not only a graduation but also a chance to explore the university and the lifestyle within it.

In the morning, the students arrived at the medical campus. They started their graduation ceremony with a starter session. The scholars reminded themselves of the different skills they used throughout their time at 

studies the programme and whilst writing their final essay consisting of 1,500 words. After that, the group learnt about university. The students acquired the knowledge about what degrees there are and the journeys of the student ambassadors to university.

After gaining so much information, the scholars had a tour around the medical campus. The facility (which focuses on medicine) was opened in 1173. The graduates had a chance to look at the chapel, medical rooms, the library and the lecture rooms.

Around 12:00 it was time for the graduation ceremony itself. Every student was proud of their achievements in this exclusive and exceptional programme. Each student was called up, one at a time, to claim their certificate and have their picture taken. The students summarised their experience. Each student was applauded. However, two students managed to construct and deliver a speech. Adham (one of the graduates that gave out a speech) said “I would like to thank our school for giving such a wonderful opportunity. In addition, I would also like to thank Dr.Jairam- our tutor”. The students then officially ended their journey with the Brilliant Scholars.

In conclusion, all the students (now alumni for the programme) enjoyed their voyage with the Brilliant Club. Each scholar learnt about university and the topic they studied. However, Everyone (all the students that took part) wanted to thank Mr Magnoff (their teacher who took a directorial role in this event) for the wonderful opportunity he had organised for them.

Filip S, 7VI

Brilliant Year 7 Scholars Graduate at Cambridge University!

St Michael’s is celebrating the success of twelve Year 7 students as they graduate from The Scholars Programme, a national university access programme. These students were encouraged to think and work independently across seven tutorials with a subject expert PhD researcher. During the programme, they studied Literary Theory and then completed a challenging final essay which was given a university-level grade. All twelve students graduated and were singled out for praise from their PhD tutor. As a reward, these students attended a prestigious graduation ceremony at Downing College, University of Cambridge. Mirabel Meniru and Yousef Cardoso further distinguished themselves by delivering articulate and inspiring speeches to an audience of academics, undergraduate students and other schools. Their speeches have been included below. Please do congratulate all these students when you see them!