Previous Courses

Course materials from past years will continue to be available on this page! You are always welcome to explore these virtual classes and challenge yourself to complete the tasks, even though the competitions have now closed. We have also provided links to the winning entries of previous competitions, so you can read some of the excellent work we have received in years past!

2021-22: Visions of the Future

Class 1

In the first class, we’ll be looking at some of the ways in which the Covid-19 pandemic has affected our world and the technologies we use, from vaccine-development to diplomacy, international relations, and digital theatre. We’ll explore the technologies that lie behind some of the key areas of change in the 21st century such as Artificial Intelligence and new sources of clean energy. And, we’ll step back from the modern to get a historical perspective on ‘the future’, with articles on the ancient origins of computing, and on the notion of what it has meant throughout history to be ‘modern’ at all.

Subjects covered: Computer Science, Geography, Classics, Earth Sciences, Medicine, English

Class 2

In our second class, we’ll be continuing to dig deeper into some of the topics we’ve already explored in the first class. We’ll take a look at some ways in which computers and new technologies are continuing to revolutionise a wide variety of fields, from zoology and conservation, to medicine, psychology and genetics, including an examination of the exciting (but controversial) new technology of gene-editing. And in the humanities, we’ll continue our exploration of the ancient world and attitudes to the notion of ‘progress’ in Greece and Rome, as well as leaping forward to the 20th century to a pivotal moment in the history of modern art in post-war Britain.

Subjects covered: Psychology, Ancient History, Biology, Biomedical Sciences, History of Art

Class 3

In the third class, we will continue our exploration of artificial intelligence, both in the context of its uses in the medical profession, and in the context of one of the core philosophical questions that AI raises: what, exactly, does it mean to be a person? We’ll also learn about two developments which have the potential to revolutionise modern science: quantum computing, and nanotechnology. We will also be turning to geography to examine the question of how technology has affected the way we see and represent the world, before returning once again to the ancient world, and a surprising relationship the Ancient Greeks’ scientific knowledge and their political development.

Subjects covered: Medicine, Biochemistry, Geography, Philosophy, Physics, Classics

Class 4

In our fourth and final class, we’ll conclude our exploration of some of the key applications and issues around artificial intelligence: we’ll find out about how AI might help us tackle the climate crisis, and we’ll dig deeper into some of the ethical dilemmas raised by the use of AI in medicine. Then, turning back from our current era of rapid and radical change, we’ll step back in time to see how past societies have responded to periods of disruption, with a timely look at how medieval societies responded the Black Death pandemic of the 14th century. And finally, we will look further at how the use of computers can aid and enhance our knowledge and understanding in a number of fields, from mathematics and psychology, to the use of digital modelling in the Humanities.

Subjects covered: Earth Sciences, Ethics, History, Mathematics, Psychology, Ancient History

2021-22: Visions of the Future

ChALLENGESwinning entries
Class 1 PDF and ChallengesSee some of the winning entries for Class 1!
Class 2 PDF and ChallengesSee some of the winning entries for Class 2!
Class 3 PDF and ChallengesSee some of the winning entries for Class 3!
Class 4 PDF and ChallengesSee some of the winning entries for Class 4!

2020-21: Why does evolution matter?

Class 1: Biology and Darwinian evolution (PDF)

competitionwinning entries
Competition 1.1: The fossil recordRead the winning entries to Competition 1.1
Competition 1.2: Create your own organismRead the winning entries to Competition 1.2
Competition 1.3: Evolution of flightRead the winning entries to Competition 1.3

Class 2: Evolution as a metaphor (PDF)

competitionwinning entries
Competition 2.1: Language evolutionRead the winning entries to Competition 2.1
Competition 2.2: What even are words anymoreRead the winning entries to Competition 2.2
Competition 2.3: Carolingian minusculeRead the winning entries to Competition 2.3

Class 3: Evolution, science and technology (PDF)

competitionwinning entries
Competition 3.1: Artificial intelligenceRead the winning entries to Competition 3.1
Competition 3.2: Evolution puzzlesRead the winning entries to Competition 3.2
Competition 3.3: Mathematics of natural selectionRead the winning entries to Competition 3.3

Class 4: Culture and history through the lens of evolution (PDF)

competitionwinning entries
Competition 4.1: Greek and Roman thinkingRead the winning entries to Competition 4.1
Competition 4.2: PoetryRead the winning entries to Competition 4.2
Competition 4.3: Leisure and technological changeRead the winning entries to Competition 4.3

2019-20: What is the power of a volcano?

Introduction to the course (PDF)

Class 1: Handling volcanic objects (PDF)

competitionwinning entries
Competition 1.1: Trade in RomeRead the winning entries to Competition 1.1
Competition 1.2: The Role of the historianRead the winning entries to Competition 1.2
Competition 1.3: Telling the timeRead the winning entries to Competition 1.3

Class 2: Volcanoes in the sciences (PDF)

competitionwinning entries
Competition 2.1: Volcanoes & mass extinctionRead the winning entries to Competition 2.1
Competition 2.2: What’s the price on your head?Read the winning entries to Competition 2.2
Competition 2.3: Make your own volcanoRead the winning entries to Competition 2.3
Competition 2.4: Exploring scaling analysisRead the winning entries to Competition 2.4

Class 3: Explosive creativity (PDF)

competitionwinning entries
Competition 3.1: Eruptions and transformationsRead the winning entries to Competition 3.1
Competition 3.2: Reading the runesRead the winning entries to Competition 3.2

Final competition: What is the power of a volcano? (PDF)

competitionwinning entries
Final competitionRead the winning entries for the final competition

Virtual Summer School