Schooling for Empire Conference

Schools of Empire is a project that launched at Rugby School in 2020 and aims to explore the intersection between education, specifically at public schools, and the British Empire.

James and Oliver spoke first about the impact of British education on Highland identity. Their presentation was very well researched, with a detailed exploration of how education in Scotland had presented the Highland identity over time. Hal then presented about how the empire education system varied depending on the racial composition of the different colonies. This was a fascinating analysis about education in the British Empire on a large scale and it was impressive how Hal was able to draw together different strands from so many examples. Finally, Josh spoke about British missionary schools in Malaya and the impact these had on social mobility. It was a hugely engaging study into the impact of these schools and Josh spoke with poise and clarity throughout. All three research projects were of exceptional quality and it was clear that the boys had invested a significant amount of time in their preparation. They were watched by pupils and staff from a number of other schools, including St Paul’s Boys & Girls Schools, Putney High School, Winchester College, King’s School Grantham and Rugby.

What was clear was that their participation was not simply a tick-box activity for a UCAS application or CV, the pupils were genuinely passionate about their topics and this came across in the presentations. It was one of the best examples of super-curricular involvement that I have seen during my career and the boys should be incredibly proud of their work.