Over the winter break, Ascham students joined with Scot’s students to head to the UK for an immersive trip of politics, philosophy, economics and history. Here, Year 11 student Sofia provides a reflection on the students’ incredible experiences.
‘The UK Summer Tour to Edinburgh, St Andrews and Oxford gave us the opportunities of learning complex ideas, meeting international friends and bonding with Scots and Ascham students.
In Edinburgh we wandered our way through fortresses, monuments and church spirals. The rolling green hills of Scotland were sights never to be forgotten. At St Andrews University, we took the PPE course which included topics on Ethics of Giving, Feminist Ethics, Ethics of Voting, the History of Economics, and Liberalism. This has enhanced our understanding of the world, as we must question our beliefs. Philosophy offers a logic way of analysing any topic. Many of us became familiar of renowned philosophers, such as Scottish Adam Smith, David Hume, and Thomas Hobbes. During the breaks we toured castles, one being Glamis.
At Oxford we separated into different assigned campuses. This gave us freedom to assimilate with many other friends from a range of countries, many of whom could speak five languages. This taught us independence and responsibility, especially during our assessments in class. The course I had the pleasure of attending was Philosophy, Modern literature and History. In this course we discussed many topics, such as what justifies a truth? Plato’s, Helgen’s, Kant’s, Aristotle’s, and Hume’s Aesthetics… etc.
The UK Summer Tour was an eye-opening experience, and we completely recommend this for any student willing to take on the extra work and the university lifestyle.’
