Prize-giving citation for the Hutcheson S6 Independent Research Paper award:
The Sixth Year Independent Research Paper was instituted for the first time in the 2007-2008 session to encourage S6 pupils to investigate an area of special interest and to develop their skills of independent research expected at university and beyond. The winners of this award have demonstrated to a high degree, qualities of initiative, curiosity, resilience, intellectual honesty, critical engagement and independence.
Organisation and motivation are undoubtedly important foundations for independent learning, as you will certainly not be able to learn independently unless you have learned to be well organised and unless you are motivated to learn. These are things that pupils will have developed already to a large extent through their school careers. They are also characteristics that they should go on improving and refining throughout life as new challenges arise, where they need to be more (or differently) organised, when they need to find new motivations to learn new things. However, the six qualities listed in the prize-giving citation for the Hutcheson S6 Independent Research Paper award demand a little more and mark out how the most successful individuals learn.
All Sixth Year pupils have the opportunity of tackling the IRP and so further develop their initiative, curiosity, resilience, intellectual honesty, their critical engagement and their independence. It is now widely agreed that these qualities that mark out successful university students and professionals need to be clearly identified and recognised in ways that normal examinations do not necessarily recognise or reward.
Around the world examination authorities are planning to introduce ways of doing so. At Hutchie we have the IRP, which does exactly that. One of the key attractive features of the IRP is its flexibility.Genuinely independent in emphasis, it is not formally taught, and there are few restrictions as to what academic or creative field it might come from, with past IRPs coming from such diverse areas as History, Mathematics, Technology, Political Studies and English as well as cross-curricular themes and with a piece of musical composition able to compete for entry with scientific experimental research. Sixth Years can follow a line of thought based on what they enjoy and are genuinely curious about.
It is indeed an exciting opportunity at a unique moment in a pupil's lifelong journey of learning and discovery.