Scott Jessop, Head of Life of Learning, reflects on what Oundle looks for in an Academic Scholar, how the Scholars’ programme works and why curiosity matters far more than simply chasing marks.
Working with the Academic Scholars at Oundle is one of the great joys of my job.
Week to week and month to month, much of what we do comes together through Colloquium and Conversaz, our Scholars’ societies. They run from Third Form through to Upper Sixth and give pupils space to read widely, explore ideas and develop the intellectual curiosity we value so highly.
A big part of being a Scholar here is a desire to read and to explore the world. Most of our Scholars will always have a decent novel on the go but they will also be reading something more closely aligned with their academic subjects, particularly as they move towards the top end of the School.
The thing we look for most when we meet potential Scholars is a spark. We want that little extra something where pupils are genuinely interested in their subjects and in academic work.
You can always tell when you are teaching a Scholar set. If you try to fob them off with an answer, they will come straight back at you with a ‘why?’ or a ‘what if?’. That restlessness and independence of thought is something we really value.
Another quality we look for is intellectual self-confidence. That does not mean being socially gregarious. It means having the confidence, when you are not sure, to put your hand up, throw an idea out there and help get a lesson going, even if it might be wrong.
We try to create an atmosphere where it is cool to participate, cool to learn and where you are not judged by your peers for getting something slightly off in a lesson.
Being an Academic Scholar here is not onerous. There is no heavy additional workload and we are certainly not trying to lay on extra pressure. The idea is to nurture passion and allow pupils to give as much time to it as they choose, in the same way others might commit to sport, music or drama.
By the end of a Scholar’s time at Oundle, what I hope they have gained is the independence and confidence to cope with the unfamiliar and not be fazed by the new or the difficult.
Above all, we want young people who love to learn for its own sake, not because they are obsessed with marks but because they are absorbed by the process itself.
