The ICS Press - Spring

The ICS Press

ICS Oxford Trip

Dear Parents and Carers,

It has been a busy term at ICS! My peers have put together some of their highlights to share with you

Awards Assembly

Faculty Award Winners: Science - Isabel

Social Sciences - Sarthak

Arts & Humanities - Nidhi Maths - Ayman

ART Award Winner: Zaynab

Celebrating Love, Alex, Lyna and Yewande: the students who run our lower school societies!

UpLearn Award: Shilo

award winners!

Brilliant Club Graduation, Brasenose University, Oxford

ICS Bake-Off, organised by Shilton, our Mental Health Officer Bar mock trial orchestrated by students

Volunteering at Red Cross Gardens in making public spaces more pleasing to the eye

A talk with Samuel Kasumu about The Power of the Outsider'

Wearing purple to signify justice and dignity used to represent women today

Student led assemblies - our Diversity and Inclusion Officer' discussing Pride month

Radhe and Elani who made it to the finals in the Oxford debate!

Biology

Biology is an incredibly interesting area of study which, fundamentally, enables students to develop a deep understanding of life. Most recently, students have been learning about Immunology - a branch of medicine and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in all organisms. Whether it be the production of B Lymphocytes and T lymphocytes, to Antigenic Variability due to DNA mutations: the depth of complexity to such a study is endless Atop this, students embarked upon a trip to visit UCL, hearing hearing excellent lectures covering the natural sciences, whilst also getting the chance to partake in activities themselves. It really was a great trip! At its core, Biology allow students to apply their understanding of organisms to even the most basic areas that humans tend to question. Why do we catch colds? How does Coronavirus work? Why do antibiotics not work to fight viruses?

Sixth Form Classes

Sociology

This term, Sociology students have moved on from studying the intricacies of the education system, to exploring families and households This has included social dynamics between couples, the concept of childhood, and the ways that different sociological perspectives view the family. As with the previous topics, students are encouraged to analyse and discuss their own experiences and think about how what they are learning correlates with their day to day life. This engages students critical thinking skills, thus resulting in them leaving each lesson with a deeper understanding of the topic, as well as their own lives This term, students also embarked on a unique and inspiring trip. Beginning with an excellent tour of the Royal Courts of Justice, students headed over to the Old Bailey where they had the opportunity to sit in on a real, live court session investigating the death of Paul Mason, a millionaire banker who was punched to death in a random attack by Steven Allan Students heard an eyewitness being questioned and watched CCTV footage which caught the attack, being analysed Steven Allan was eventually convicted of manslaughter rather than murder Students have praised this trip and are eager to head back into the courtrooms once again. This experience will prove insightful for the topic ‘Crime and Deviance’ which will be covered later in the course

Sixth Form Classes

Mathematics

This term in Mathematics, we have been studying and learning various concepts such as differentiation in core, large data sets in stats, and forces and Newton's laws in mechanics Not only do we learn the theory of course, but we also learn the various ways in which content can be applied. A great example of this are small demonstrations which allow us to understand concepts, such as the use of a small pulley in a forces exam question Students also demonstrate their understanding by talking through the exam questions and materials using whiteboards around the classroom The learning doesn’t just stop in the classroom, however We have a variety of trips and opportunities available to us, including: the UKMT challenge, The Senior Team Maths challenge, AMSP Problem Solving courses and a variety of lectures, the most recent being a lecture about Christopher Wren and the use of maths in the architectural design of St Paul’s Cathedral! At the end of each class we also go through STEP questions to stimulate our problem solving and cognitive thinking.

Chemistry

This half term, ICS chemists have been continuing to progress in organic chemistry, with key focuses on halogenoalkanes and different organic mechanisms including free radical substitution and the three types of nucleophilic substitution, with further links and applications between topics being clearly seen as we progress through the course As part of the super curricular activities available, various chemistry students participated in the recent Chemistry Olympiad competition A massive congratulations to all who participated and especially to Elani Deanna Ponnampalam and Ayman Sakib who both have achieved a Bronze award!

Physics

This term, in Physics, we attended a lecture at the Institute of Physics titled "The Surprising Physics of Creating a Human,'' by Michael Banks, editor of Physics World Magazine. It covered topics that we may not typically think of as related to physics, including how sperm cells swim, first breaths and breastfeeding. The lecture supported our mechanics topic particularly, going into detail about the oblique (diagonal) motion, caused by the rotation of a sperm ' s tail and surface tension in the lungs. Overall, the experience was a great insight into how physics relates to everything around us: it's meaningful to everyone, not just a handful of academics and researchers.

Sixth Form Classes

Further Maths

This half term, Further Maths began by building on topics we had started learning before Christmas. From writing equations of planes, to finding the distances and angles between lines, and even calculating the volume of shapes such as tetrahedrons and parallelepipeds; there was a lot to cover! After completion of the prior topics, we explored parabolas and hyperbolas, and later discovered that civil engineers use such shapes when building bridges. Furthermore, a few students were nominated to attend a series of Royal Institution Mathematics Masterclasses wherein we explored topics that were not strictly in our A Level specification, such as deriving a formula for the nth Fibonacci number by solving recurrence relations. Amidst all that learning, four Further Maths students participated in the Senior Maths Team Challenge, which was hosted by LAE Tottenham this January. Congratulations to Ayman, Daniyaal, Isabel and Elani for placing 9th out of 29 other teams - an amazing achievement!

Sixth Form Classes

History

As part of our curriculum, we have delved into the history of the Kingdom of Benin, examining the factors that contributed to its rise We explored relations in detail, with a particular focus on Portguese involvement and influence on West Africa. Given that Benin did not surmise to the temptation of the slave trade, it offered a striking example of a West African kingdom which strongly resisted the demands of European slave traders, and instead simply traded with the wider world through cloth production. It's admirable that Benin initially resisted the Atlantic slave trade and found success through other means. However, it's also unfortunate that the pressures of the slave trade ultimately led to Benin's decline, thereby painting an important picture of implications of the trans-Atlantic slave trade Furthermore, we also placed importance upon learning about and acknowledging the complex history of African Kingdoms, particularly in relation the Atlantic slave trade, but also precolonial Africa. Understanding the impact of external forces and how they shaped the development of African societies is crucial to gaining a more complete understanding of world history

Geography

In Geography this term, we have been focusing on the diversity within the complexion of coastal landscapes, and what unique incidents occur to produce such structural formulations. This topic was particularly enjoyed by the class as it drew upon GCSE content, whilst also providing a greater depth of knowledge which was excellent for understanding processes in action and being able to identify them in person (makes me feel like an expert). Furthermore, we recently went to the seaside - Whitstable in Kent - and had a great time examining the real world application of the content we had learnt in class Overall, we ’ ve all really enjoyed our study of Geography this term. It's been great witnessing the real-world application of the content we learnt about in class - it really did come right out of the textbook!

English Literature

In becoming well-rounded Shakespearians, our English class were given the opportunity to attend a unique variation of the play Hamlet, which centred around the younger characters within the play. This allows us to use the interpretations of the director as alternative interpretations of Hamlet in our exams, which is a more fun way to gather AO5 perspectives and interpretations. Aside from Hamlet, we began the dystopian unit of the syllabus which involves studying the Handmaids Tale and 1984. These controversial novels often turn lessons into debates and discussions on hot topics, which allows us to strengthen our knowledge on perspectives and context of the dystopias Finally, for our comparative study on A Doll's House and The Merchant's Tale, we were kindly visited by Professor Greenslade, who ran a workshop surrounding interesting takes on Nora's character - an interesting way to engage with Nora as a character, and the play as a whole.

Sixth Form Classes

Economics

This month in Economics, students have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the real world application of economic theory Having particularly focused on government intervention and its consequences, it’s been rather interesting exploring the multi-faceted nature of the subject given how many different perspectives can be taken on its issues, an example being the philosophical theory behind government intervention Furthermore, in order to improve depth of understanding, many students have been attending lectures at the prestigious London School of Economics, home of the most renowned Economics courses in the world. One particular example of an excellent lecture was “Follow the Money,” hosted by Paul Johnson, director at the IFS. Not only did this enable students to develop their critical thinking and develop synoptic links between content covered in class and current affairs, but they also had the opportunity to challenge the host through their own questions! Overall, it was an excellent experience, and provided students with a great insight as to what the study of Economics consists of at top universities

Psychology