Canford Blog

As GCSE and A Level results loom for our Fifth and Sixth Form pupils, a mixture of emotions will inevitably arise.   

The New College of the Humanities, founded by the eminent Professor AC Grayling, aims ‘to foster the talents and capacities of individual minds, empowering them ‘to see things steadily and see them whole’, and to think with acuity and intelligence’. Each year the College runs essay competitions in a series of different categories and in 2021 two Canfordians were selected as finalists from over 6,000 entries from Sixth Formers across the globe. Jake McMillan’s submission for the Law category, entitled “When, if ever, should one be criminally liable for infecting another person with a disease?” discussed the very current complex area of law surrounding criminal liability for infecting a person with a disease and the difficulty of proving causation. 

The New College of the Humanities, founded by the eminent Professor AC Grayling, aims ‘to foster the talents and capacities of individual minds, empowering them ‘to see things steadily and see them whole’, and to think with acuity and intelligence’.  Each year the College runs essay competitions in a series of different categories and in 2021 two Canfordians were selected as finalists from over 6,000 entries from Sixth Formers across the globe. Harry Young’s essay for the Politics category entitled “Is democracy experiencing a setback worldwide?” drew praise from the judges with a finalist award. The latest Democracy Index recorded by the Economist Intelligence Unit was the lowest global democracy score of 5.44/10 since the index began in 2006 and in his submission Harry explained why democracy is experiencing this setback from two fronts: the spread of authoritarianism and the failure of established democracies to lead by example and counter this threat.

Harry received medals and certificates for his effort and NCH hopes to run an in-person event in London in the Autumn to give the finalists the chance to meet the judging panel.

Harry has already won a Highly Commended award from Minds Underground in May for his essay “Is austerity ever necessary?” and has submitted a second Economics essay this time for the prestigious John Locke Institute Global Essay Competition, which encourages “young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style.”  Harry’s essay, entitled “Should we abolish the minimum wage?”  discussed the impact of abolishing the NMW, analysed within the context of three closely-linked macroeconomic objectives crucial to labour market regulation: reducing unemployment; alleviating poverty and exploitation of workers; and reducing income inequality.  He will hear the outcome of his entry in the coming weeks.

In this article Melissa Clinton, Canford's Joint Head of Wellbeing, discusses the launch of Canford's new Sleep Programme along with some top tips for better sleep health in teenagers.

We are delighted to announce that one of our current Lower Sixth pupils, Alice Hazell, was recently Commended for her essay entry in the Newnham Archaeology Essay Prize. You can read her essay here:

Welcome to the third edition of Hispanista, the pupil's termly magazine that brings you a step closer to the culture and language of the vast Spanish speaking world.

Congratulations to Lower Sixth pupil Harry Young who recently entered an economics essay into the 2021 Minds Underground essay competition and was 'highly commended' You can read Harry's essay titled 'Is austerity ever necessary?' here.

Given that up to 120 global governments are urging their citizens to wear masks whenever possible, it is natural to inquire how effective they really are in stopping the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (and other such pathogens). In this essay Milind explores how the various common types of mask work before discussing their efficacy and effectiveness in a wider setting.

In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been considerable focus on the fragility of global supply chains and the possibility of ‘slowbalisation,’ a term coined by Dutch writer Adjiedj Bakas referring to a “slowdown in global trade.” Through the use of ecomonic theory and empirical data, Harry assesses why the events of the last three years have not only disproven the ostensible inevitability of globalisation but have entailed a drastic reversal of globalisation, from an economic perspective.