"Countries must learn how to capitalise on their citizens' cognitive resources if they are to prosper, both economically and socially. Early interventions will be key."

Quoting a recent publication in Nature, eminent thinker Professor Ian Hickie AM opened our recent ScotsIdeas forum, Beyond Mental Health, with this provocation. As he explored the unique developmental differences between individual young people, and the value and importance of 'kin' - networks of relationships within communities who are invested in that individual's care and flourishing - it was the nature of such interventions that characterised much of his subsequent discussion. As those in attendance will testify, the evening offered an important and timely exchange of ideas about the ways we can best care for the social and emotional wellbeing of our young men.


The video of Professor Hickie's presentation is now available online - please click here to view it in full. It was a true privilege to have such world class thinkers contributing to our knowledge and practice as a College community, particularly as we look to create the first of our five Patribus Centres, focusing on the character and care of fine young men.


Be sure to visit scotsresearch.org/scotsideas to watch videos of past forums on topics ranging from sustainability to speechmaking, sports science to the art of motivating boys. We look forward to seeing you at future ScotsIdeas events in 2017.


Dr Caitlin Munday
Research Fellow (Professional Learning)

The beautiful Scots Church was filled to near capacity last Thursday evening as parents, students, staff and friends of the College were treated to an intellectual 'tour de force' by eminent MIT nuclear physicist Professor Ian Hutchinson. His 2016 Clark Lectures on 'Faith and Fusion: science and the sources of truth' addressed the putative clash between science and Christian faith. Surveying history, philosophy and contemporary science, he pointed to the religiously-inspired origins of science and the practice of modern scientists like him as strong reasons to view this clash as a myth. He answered a number of tough questions on nuclear fusion research, Genesis and the origins of the universe, and the relationship between science, relativism and truth.

To watch the full recording of his lecture and question time, simply copy and paste the following URL into your browser: www.vimeo.com/179854618/c71892c6b1.

The Clark Lecture brought to a conclusion a highly successful two-week visit during which time a wide range of boys, staff, universities, churches and the media engaged with the thought and faith of this superb scholar. For more information about Professor Hutchinson's other talks please visit www.clarklectures.org.

Initiatives like the annual Clark Lectures and Ethos Conference are run by the Scots Research Centre to inspire the best of thinking about faith, learning and leadership.
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We look forward to seeing you at the 2017 Clark Lectures and at upcoming ScotsIdeas events.

The Scots College's identity as a Presbyterian, non-selective, holistic educator of boys owes a great deal to the intellectual genealogy of its founder. The Reverend A. A. Aspinall's mentor was the great Presbyterian clergyman, politician and nation-builder Reverend John Dunmore Lang, who was in turn the disciple of one of Scotland's most influential 19th century churchmen, Reverend Professor Thomas Chalmers. A brilliant philosopher, political economist and preacher, Chalmers held the Chair of Moral Philosophy at the University of St Andrews and the Chair of Theology at the University of Edinburgh.

​A group of staff and Senior boys had the privilege last Thursday 12 May of hearing the scholar who occupies the same Chair of Moral Philosophy at the University of St Andrews. Professor John Haldane, one of the most respected moral philosophers in the world, delivered a special address on Thomas Chalmers and the Scottish tradition of moral philosophy. He explained the vital role of moral philosophy in integrating the disparate disciplines, exploring several pressing contemporary issues such as healthcare, economics and the future of the welfare state through its lens.

Along with the group of boys attending the annual St Andrews Summer School in June and July, the College is delighted to be hosting a number of guest academics and admissions representatives from the University of St Andrews across 2016, reminding us of our rich intellectual heritage and exploring opportunities for boys and staff to study at Scotland's oldest (and one of the UK's finest) universities. For more information or to discuss your interest in St Andrews please contact Dr Hugh Chilton at h.chilton@tsc.nsw.edu.au.

Scots is a unique school in many respects, not least in having a Research Centre supporting staff and students engaged in research-led practice and connecting the College to the best insights into boys' education. Over 40 staff members from across the College gathered for the ScotsResearch Open Afternoon last Friday to discuss their research journeys and to explore further areas of development. Staff had the opportunity to watch an interview with the Principal, Dr Ian PM Lambert, on his own research journey, and to see the scope of ways in which research is critical to enriching the quality of our educational enterprise. As detailed in the ScotsResearch Report coming very soon, focus areas for 2016 include embedding experiential education across the curriculum, action research with the International Boys' Schools Coalition, expanding the new Master Teacher Fellowship program, furthering research partnership projects on the Indigenous Education program and the Glengarry experience with the Australian Catholic University, and further engaging boys, families and old boys in the College's heritage and traditions.

The College enjoys a range of disciplinary and pedagogic research programs underway at the College and with leading researchers at Australian universities and an increased number of staff involved in higher degrees by research. World-leading academics are regularly visiting the College to work with students and staff, and there is great enthusiasm for public research-related events such as ScotsIdeas and the Clark Lectures. The marks of an enriched scholarly and professional culture abound. Research at Scots already makes the College a unique place in Australia: this rising tide of brilliant teaching and research connections promises to make it all the more so in years to come.
For more information about ScotsResearch, come and speak with us in the Research Office.

Over 200 members of The Scots College community and friends were treated to a stimulating evening at the 2015 Clark Lectures last Thursday, the centrepiece of the two week visit to the College from the eminent historian Professor David Bebbington, of the University of Stirling in Scotland. Professor Bebbington delivered a masterful overview of the development of higher education in Europe since the 12th century, connecting this story in seven acts to changing expressions of Christianity. He raised some critical questions about the nature of contemporary education at schools and universities, particularly the consequences of teaching young people functional skills without helping them think through the big questions of life: Why are we here? What is our purpose? What is right and wrong? What makes life worth living?

In many ways these questions lie at the heart of what we aim to do at Scots, as we challenge young men to develop brave hearts and bold minds, to seek and pursue what is good with all their might. Through programs like The Clark Lecture Series, ScotsIdeas, student university pathways, and a number of cooperative research programs, the Research Centre aims to help us as a College in 'lifting our gaze' and thinking harder about how the big questions shape our daily educational mission.

For more information about the annual Clark Lecture Series please visit clarklectures.org.