The Abbey IP programme is a world of learning and enquiry beyond the confines of any curriculum. It comprises workshops, talks and clubs.

Although there is a wide range of extra sessions available, many prompted by student interest, The Abbey IP happens every day. Every time our teachers explore a subject in more depth, let a student discussion run, take on a challenging topic for the sheer fun of what it can teach us, they are taking an Abbey IP angle.

In an Abbey IP workshop, students might learn:

• how the Ancient Greeks measured the circumference of the world
• how the music of one country shaped the writing of another
• why women are more likely to be injured in car crashes and what it tells us about society
• what calculus is and how it relates to chaos theory and what it has to do with the weather next week
• about quantum entanglement and where it could lead us
• about the achievements of the Indus Valley civilisation
• about the voyages of Leif Eriksson and Madog ab Owen Gwynedd, where they went or might have gone, and why it matters

Most of all our students learn to ask hard questions, distrust easy answers and think for themselves.

At Senior School The Abbey IP covers all the enrichment and additional activity we offer from the age of 11 right up to the enhanced programmes students enjoy to support access to the most competitive universities.The Abbey IP is built into every lesson and curricular club. In the Lower School, lessons feature ToK Hooks. These might last moments or a few minutes and they relate what is being studied in that lesson to another area of knowledge. Students then connect these hooks for themselves.

All students include IP activity in their work towards their Lower School diploma in Year 9. They continue to follow Ideas + Passion in all the activities through the GCSE and Sixth Form Years.

Scholarship Programmes

The Senior School offers five scholarship programmes of activity:

• Academic
• Art
• Drama
• Music
• Sport

Scholarship awards are made through open competition going into Year 7 and further opportunities are available in Year 9 and Year 11. Scholars take part in extra sessions and activities but crucially they act as leaders, expanding opportunity to everyone in the school. Any student might gain from any of the scholarship programmes as part of their Abbey IP journey.

The ultimate accolade in the Abbey Ideas + Passion programme is the Scholars’ Award.

Over the summer all students in the Lower VI (Year 12) are invited to complete a project. This might support a qualification such as the EPQ or IB Diploma Programme, or it might be for the sheer joy and love of learning. Projects might be essays, pieces of art, film, lab projects: whatever supports each individual’s passion.

Students are encouraged to log all the support they received and then to roam far off the beaten track, under their own steam, following their own adventure in scholarship.

All those who submit projects present their work to staff and peers in the Autumn term. Every entrant is considered for a Scholars’ Award: a substantial research grant supporting independent work during higher education. The award is made on the basis of the summer project along with their academic record and engagement with The Abbey IP during their time at the school.