Medical Society
MedSoc is a new society started up by five Divisions in the midst of lockdown to try and provide a way for aspiring medics to learn more about medicine as a career and the challenges surrounding it. We hope to have talks in the future about how to apply for Oxford, Cambridge and other top universities, as well as life in and past medical school. Our first talk was given by Arjun Narendran on Medical Ethics, in which he spoke about the Hippocratic Oath, the Four Pillars of Biomedical Ethics, and more liberal ideas. To break this up, we regularly discussed the ethical problems that medicine faces as a whole, such as euthanasia, but also problems that medics may face in a day to day environment, like breaking patient confidentiality for the safety of others. In the future, we’re also hoping to merge with KEHS in order to gain a larger audience and host better discussions. In addition, we aim to help anyone struggling with work experience during this time by hosting talks by individual specialities, so that those interested can try and get an idea of what life is like in different departments.
Arjun Narendran
Literary Society
Literary Society has been given new life this year after a dormant period, thanks to the enthusiasm and commitment of Mr Stacey, Ben Maguire and Rory Swann, and now has a core base of keen members. LitSoc provides those with an interest in literature an opportunity to come and listen to fascinating talks on a wide range of topics, get involved with discussion, and develop their interest further. Students are also encouraged to give talks themselves on anything literature-related that they find particularly interesting. LitSoc is aimed at middle and upper school, as sometimes the subject can be new and challenging, but pupils from the lower school are equally welcomed!
Progress this year has been hindered slightly by the coronavirus, but online Zoom calls and the wonders of Google Classroom have given Rory and Ben a degree of independence to lead the society creatively. Talks so far this year have included: 90s ‘in-yer-face’ theatre, the role of Jane Austen’s heroines, Georg Buchner’s Danton’s Death, and The Ghost Stories of M.R. James (as of May 21). LitSoc meets on Thursday lunchtimes on a bi-weekly basis and generally takes the format of a talk followed by questions and discussion. We try to post the texts, which will be used as the basis for a talk on Google Classroom, in advance so people can have a chance to get acquainted with the subject matter, but talks are general enough to accommodate those with no knowledge, and interactive enough to keep their interest! Ben and Rory are looking forward to introducing some poetry to discuss in future sessions – and for participants to have a go at composing some for themselves.
Rory Swann
KES now has 33 societies and clubs up and running remotely. Students are encouraged to explore the opportunities available by visiting Firefly.
