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Societies and Activities

Philosophy and English

English

Film Club We have had another exciting year in Film Club. In fact, with the medium of film being so vast and all-encompassing, you could say we have experienced Everything, Everywhere, All at Once . What was on The Menu this year? Well, we took no Prisoners and experienced a (Space) Odyssey of film. At points we were Clueless over what to choose, but after a Rocky start we didn’t feel the need to call ‘Taxi!’ (Driver) ; after all, the (Truman) Show must go on. We were stuck in a Fishtank for a while in complete Silence (of the Lambs) ; it was All Quiet (on the Western Front) but (28 days) later , Elliot Gregg said ‘ I’ll (of Dogs) choose a film’, the decision was Black (Swan) and white: anything by Scorsese. Film Club meets in Mrs Shockley’s room (EN35) on a Monday in the Hour for Fifths and above. Each week a film is suggested, then watched in time for our meeting the following week. Our conversations move from cinematography to storytelling techniques, contextual influences to acting. Every week brings a new cinematic experience, often through a film never encountered before. Thank you to all our members this year for wonderful suggestions, particularly where you have introduced us to a new film and new way of seeing the world. I look forward to next year’s meetings, with another leap into the world through the big screen. Mrs K. Shockley Carnegie In collaboration with the library team, the English department has continued to shadow the Carnegie shortlist this year. This prestigious children’s book award is at the heart of a national reading-for pleasure drive, and students are exposed to a range of the very highest quality of children’s writing. Past winners of the award include Arthur Ransome, C.S. Lewis, Terry Pratchett, Philip Pullman and Sally Gardner. We have been meeting on Mondays during the Hour to discuss our

Philosophy Society This year’s Philosophy Society provided students with an opportunity for weekly passionate and topical debates. Whilst the club was aimed at the Senior School, PhilSoc quickly garnered a proud reputation that even reached the staff body and Middle School students, many of whom became regulars. Some of our most interesting discussions include the morality of incest, the existence of free will, the concept of masculinity, and secularism, which were student-led by Raafi Jaffer and Tayvon Folami. PhilSoc deep dives into numerous philosophies and their impact on contemporary politics, psychology and sociology. We wish the best of luck to our successor, Aadil Bhudia, who will be heading up the society next year with support from Daniel Self and Alex Paramor. Tayvon Folami and Raffi Jaffer (U6th) Young Philosophers Conference On 24th February MTS hosted the annual (online) Young Philosophers Conference for several schools across the South-East. The event involved 25 students presenting papers on a topic that they had researched, Philosophy

followed by a discussion of their work, and was bookended by lectures from leading academics. There were three themes around which individuals could centre their essays: truth and falsehood, the future, and humanity. Each of the papers presented were of a very high standard and provoked thought-provoking conversations. Four Lower Sixth pupils presented at the conference: Aadil Bhudia proffered a paper entitled ‘Does self-deception exist and is it bad for us?’, and Daniel Self spoke on ‘The Nature of Time – The Existence of a Real Future’. Alexander Paramor and Aryan Patel prepared responses to papers from other participants. We were also very lucky to receive talks from Professor Quassim Cassam of the University of Warwick on ‘Post-Truth’, and Professor Jennifer A. Herdt of Yale University’s Divinity School on ‘Puzzles of Loyalty’. Overall, the day was hugely enriching, providing insight into studying philosophy at university, and allowing students to consider many different philosophical perspectives on a wide range of topics. Daniel Self (L6th)

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Taylorian 2023