King's School sixth form students showcased their academic passions in an evening dedicated to thinking outside the box.
The Extended Project Qualification is aimed at engaging, enthusing and exciting students by allowing them to explore specialist topics in depth.
"Designed to be an introduction to university life", as King's Head of Extended Studies, Business teacher Donna Jestin, said: "it gives students a wider scope by enabling them to master skills they will need both at university and in later life including research, analysis, presentation, planning and time-management."
After six months preparation, 37 sixth formers presented their work, complementing their 5,000-word essays with a lecture to formal assessors and a presentation stand for teachers, governors, friends and parents to view.
It was King's first EPQ presentation night in the new Jackson Hall and typically saw a vast range of subjects from the rise of Hitler to the revolutionary poetic style of Charles Baudelaire, from the successes and failures of third wave feminism to the rise and fall of Japanese technology.
Ben Piper, 17, from Macclesfield, examined the increase in addiction during lockdown. Applying to read Psychology at university and ultimately work in occupational psychology helping business improve staff morale and performance, Ben said: "Many studies have shown that isolation leads to addictive behaviours. Whether it is Netflix, alcohol or even buying toilet roll, the Government needs to plan to offer more medical support to addicts in the event of another lockdown."
Ruth Ridgway, 17, from Whaley Bridge, researched how women are usually viewed from an unjust male perspective in Greek mythology. Applying to read English Literature at university, Ruth said: "Women are often presented as purely domestic chattels or as threatening figures who could not control their own sexuality. Much revisionist work both in art and literature seeks to address this misconception and shows that the myths were very much a product of their time."
Tom Clancey, 17, from Macclesfield, who wants to read International Business Management at university looked at the rise of Hitler and how mass unemployment and hyperinflation saw the German people seek the answer in a more extreme leader.
"Germany was already in desperate circumstances when the Wall Street Crash of 1929 saw America demand its First World War reparations. Versailles had been damaging as Germany lost its colonies and industrial heartlands, but this led to even more inflation and unemployment."
Archie Abraham, 18, from Macclesfield, who wants to do a degree apprenticeship in Software Engineering and go on to work as an IT business consultant, looked conversely at how American intervention had unwittingly supported the meteoric rise of post-war Japanese technology.
"The Americans invested heavily in building new naval and air bases in Japan after World War Two war, which saw a massive influx of capital."
It was done under the illusion of helping Japan after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but it was really to give them a base to fight the rise of communism in the Pacific Rim. "Ultimately it unwittingly helped to lead to a strong Japanese revival as companies like Mitsubishi moved away from making weapons to make transistors."
Mimi Yehia, 17, from Chelford, who wants to read Politics and International Relations at university looked at the comparative successes and failures of the second wave feminism of the previous generation and today's third wave feminism.
Mimi said: "The second wave of feminists achieved women's rights through legislation including the legalisation fo abortion and equal pay, but the third wave, though they have not succeeded in any legislative reform have made significant cultural advances. Just look at how many leading roles are given to female characters in Disney films for example."
Rosie Ibberson, 17, from Glossop, who examined the break from a formal poetic style to prose poetry without euphemism, said the work for the extended project had instilled more self-confidence and improved her working habits. Roise, who has an offer from Oxford to study French, said: "It was really interesting. It is the first time any of us have done a major student-led research project and I thought it improved my organisational skills, my ability to meet deadlines, my resilience and self-confidence. I also loved studying my chosen subject and know I will go on to study Baudelaire more deeply at university."