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This term the Lower Sixth has produced a formidable range of essays for the Heresy Project, as punchy, irreverent and mischievously uncompromising as ever. At a time when unprecedented global challenges are testing the limits to so many long-established patterns of thought, Lancing is leading the charge in seeking out and embracing much needed new, heretical intellectual possibilities.
It was nearly impossible to make a decision on the final shortlist, and this year about 20 more essays could have made the heretical grade. There has been some outstanding writing: engaged, rigorously researched and waspishly witty in argument, pushing the case for an extraordinary collection of heretical causes with flair, intelligence and vim. COVID-19 has certainly not dampened Lancing’s long tradition of vigorous, independent intellectual thought! Richard I’s reputation has been trounced, Science rejected in favour of Romanticism, and the failings of our current education system eviscerated.
After considerable debate, a grand jury in the Common Room of Dr Kerney, Dr Herbert, Mr Harman and Mrs Mole just about managed to agree on the winners from the shortlist; and it has again been decided that three entrants should be jointly awarded top prize. These three essays were marked out by the exceptional depth of their research, their biting analytical edge, and the sheer joyful audacity with which they demolished their heretical targets: precisely the qualities of sharp-eyed independent thought demanded by top flight universities.
Lancing’s heretical trinity this year comprises:
Rafi B P for his essay: Richard I: more pigheaded than lionhearted?
Ben M-S for his essay: Should Africa remain poor for the rest of the world?
Tallulah R for her essay: To what extent do the physiological effects of medicinal drugs heal patients?
Dr Damian Kerney, Head of Sixth Form Enrichment