Cake-making, musicals, jazz music, marketing and psychology are all hot topics of discussion in this episode as we catch up with the prize-winners of CHS’s annual Duncan Matheson Award.

Discussing their chosen topics, the pupils talk about why they chose such fascinating subjects to research during their summer holidays; they even share a few tips for those embarking upon their own project entries for the Duncan Matheson prize in future.

Mrs Dalton-Woods, CHS’s Duncan Matheson Award programme co-ordinator, whose specific role involves looking after the School’s Independent Learning programmes, also shares what skills are developed by taking part and how this can help pupils who later decide to embark upon projects for the Higher Project upon the Higher Project Qualification (HPQ) in Year 10 as an additional subject which is equivalent to half a GCSE, or the academic Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) in Lower Sixth as a fourth option and equal to half an A Level which prepares pupils for study beyond Sixth Form.

CHS’s Duncan Matheson project is introduced at the end of Year 8 and handed in at the start of Year 9. A 10-hour challenge, pupils choose their own topic title to investigate and present their findings in a format of their choice. It is designed to give pupils time to be creative and explore their passions away from the curriculum whilst increasing their understanding and use of CHS’s Thinking Skills developed in lesson time.