On May 21st, the final presentations of the 2025 NHEHS/Harrow Symposium took place at the prestigious Royal Society, marking the culmination of months of collaboration, research and exploration for Year 12 students from Notting Hill & Ealing High School and Harrow School.

Now in its latest edition, the annual Symposium offers Lower Sixth students a unique opportunity to work at a university level, pushing the boundaries of their academic interests and honing skills that will stand them in excellent stead for university applications and beyond. This year’s theme, “Truth,” challenged participants to explore one of the most elusive and complex concepts through a range of interdisciplinary lenses.

From philosophy and science to politics and media, students tackled thought-provoking questions around the nature, construction, and consequences of truth. Working in mixed-school teams and guided by university tutors and industry professionals, participants developed rigorous arguments, deepened their subject knowledge, and strengthened their ability to think critically and collaboratively.

The programme launched in March with a formal introduction and team-building day at NHEHS. Students met for the first time, received their briefs, and began scoping out their chosen questions. An informal follow-up meeting at NHEHS allowed teams to continue developing their ideas before submitting a 1,500-word article articulating their findings.

The final stage – the presentation evening at the Royal Society – saw students share their insights with an invited audience, including peers, teachers, and academics. The evening concluded with a formal dinner to celebrate the students’ achievements and the friendships and intellectual bonds forged over the course of the programme.

In addition to their academic work, students had the opportunity to take on key behind-the-scenes roles that contributed to the success of the event. From photography and videography to event management and publication design, these roles provided valuable real-world experience and allowed students to develop transferable skills in creativity, communication, and organisation.

The 2025 Symposium once again demonstrated the power of collaboration, curiosity and academic ambition. Congratulations to all the students involved for their dedication, insight and impressive scholarship.

A sample of some of the symposium questions:

History and Revolution – “Truths Colliding: Revolutionaries and the Road to War.”
Microbiology – “Trypanosomes: Truth and Deceit”
Truth, Translation and Psychological Realities – “Lost in Translation: is creative writing more truthful?”
Data Science and Data Engineering – “Storming Twitter: Can AI do authorship analysis?”
Chemistry – “Protein folding: can AI outsmart Nature?
Politics – “America v. China: the balance of truth in strategic approaches?”
Mathematics and the Psychology of Democratic Truths – “Arrow’s Theorem: is democracy impossible?”
Linguistics and Law – “Perjure Thyself?: The Truth in Lying”
Economics – “Why Education? The Path to Wealth, Growth, and Beyond”