Research Programmes

All students at MGS undertake two distinctive research-based programmes: the Personal Research Programme in Years 10 and 11, and the Individual Research Project in Year 12. These programmes prepare students for future study and work through their distinctive combination of supracurricular skills, responsible use of artificial intelligence, intellectual curiosity and personal development.

The Personal Research Programme (PRP)

Through the Personal Research Programme (PRP) students develop a wide range of skills and personal capabilities as they research a topic of their choice. Throughout, they are supported by staff from across the School at every stage.

Research and supracurricular skills

During the PRP, students research and analyse a topic that extends beyond the curriculum and reflects either a personal interest or a career aspiration.

Alongside conducting their research, students learn to:

• formulate incisive questions that enable meaningful analysis
• develop a realistic project plan and manage their time and work to achieve their goals
• locate, read and evaluate robust and trustworthy sources of information
• understand how artificial intelligence works and how it can be used thoughtfully, transparently and critically to support, rather than replace, their own thinking
• select and conduct research using appropriate methods
• analyse their findings
• develop an evidence-based argument
• communicate their findings effectively through written reports, presentations and a viva voce examination

Personal development

Through the PRP, students focus on developing personalised key capabilities: they identify their existing strengths and seek to capitalise on these, and also recognise areas for development which they aim to improve. Students can personalise their development goals so might choose to focus on managing time and competing commitments, persevering through setbacks, acting on feedback, reflecting on their progress and taking increasing responsibility for their work. They also develop the confidence to communicate their ideas, listen to alternative perspectives and revise their thinking in the light of evidence.

This focus on personal development helps students to make thoughtful choices, work productively with others, navigate complex information and prepare to respond resourcefully to the changing demands of Sixth Form, higher education and employment.

Perspectives and the Individual Research Project (IRP)

In Year 12, students build on the research and supracurricular skills developed through the PRP in two connected courses: Perspectives and the Individual Research Project (IRP).

Perspectives encourages students to apply their subject knowledge to contemporary questions that demand more than one disciplinary perspective. Through academic reading, discussion and collaborative presentations, students develop critical reasoning, discussion skills and the confidence to engage with complex issues such as the ethical, political, economic, environmental and social implications of artificial intelligence.

During the Individual Research Project, students choose and refine an independent research question, locate and evaluate academic sources and present their findings at the IRP Conference in the Summer Term. The course develops intellectual curiosity and independence, analytical judgement and communication skills that will support students in excelling at A-Level and higher education.

Our aim is to develop pupils who can:

• Ask ambitious, manageable and worthwhile questions
• Think independently and critically about evidence, ideas and competing viewpoints
• Plan and complete a complex, multi-stage project
• Use information ethically, accurately and with intellectual curiosity
• Apply AI as a tool to extend their learning rather than replace their own thinking
• Communicate a well-supported argument with clarity and confidence
• Recognise and develop their skills, dispositions and personal qualities that enable them to succeed