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not only his excitement around the work and the artist but also persuaded the audience of the relevance of much Land Art as a timely clarion call. Dr Legard commended all the speakers. He spoke specifically about the astute research of Cassius’s paper, its effective and informative contextualising and sensitivity of content and delivery. We are delighted to report that Cassius was selected to proceed and to represent IPS at the national semi-final of the competition hosted by Clare College, Cambridge. The field in the semi-final was strong, with excellently researched and confident presentations on artists such as Fiona White, Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Edward Hopper. Adjudicator, Dr Melissa Calaresu praised Cassius for his exploration of Goldsworthy and applauded him for including such a wide range of drawings and paintings. In the end, although Cassius was not selected to progress, his ARTiculation journey has been an absolute triumph! We congratulate him warmly. Mrs Aleid Farnum-Ford, Head of History of Art

ARTICULATION It was a great pleasure to welcome Freya Mears (OI, 2020) back to co-adjudicate the IPS heat for this year’s national ARTiculation competition with Mr Malcolm, Deputy Head of Sixth Form. The two entrants this year were LVIs Cassius Ashcroft and Leo Hincks. They took to the stage of the Ballroom for an hour of compelling and engaging art historical looking, thinking and speaking. Leo gave a well-researched, beautifully illustrated, moving and thought-provoking talk on Faith Ringgold’s colourful fairy-tale flavoured quilt Tar Beach 2 (1990–92). Cassius’ presentation focused on Land artist Andy Goldsworthy’s Sycamore Leaves Edging the Roots of a Sycamore Tree (2013). Cassius connected his choice of subject to his personal experience of lockdown. He spoke persuasively about the universal importance of a communion with the natural world, contextualising Goldsworthy’s practice in the current environmentalist movement. It was Cassius who was adjudged the heat winner and selected to progress to the next round. At the national quarter final, hosted by the Lightbox Gallery, Architectural Historian and Heritage Consultant Dr James Legard presided as judge. The heat took place in a virtual auditorium with a keen audience of pupils, teachers, family and friends. Cassius’s delivery was clear, passionate and engaging. He conveyed

Freya Mears (OI, 2020), Leo Hincks and Cassius Ashcroft, LVI

psychology, psychiatry and psychotherapy may contribute to our understanding of the human mind and its ‘disorders’, particularly in relation to schizophrenia. Sports Psychologist Dr Jonathan Smith, who works with Paralympic athletes, spoke of the issues with mental resilience at an elite level and how understanding our instincts can be the difference between success or disqualification. Dr Gemma Witcomb of Loughborough University presented work on the issues surrounding gender identity, highlighting research which shows that gender identity is a continuum, while it is societal norms that make gender a dichotomy. Dr Peter Lovatt, who runs The Dance Psychology Lab gave an engaging presentation on the benefits of dance to our mental health, supporting the way that we think and improving our relationships with others. Thanks to all the staff who helped to make the lectures a possibility this year.

VI PSYCHOLOGY LECTURES While A-level Psychologists were unable to attend the annual Psychology in Action lectures in person this year, lectures were live streamed and pupils were able to interact with the speakers and answer poll questions using an online forum.

provided evidence that just two minutes of ‘zoning out’ during a protracted period of concentration may boost memory and insight on resuming one’s focus. Professor Dany Nobus of Brunel University, considered what it means to be ‘normal’ in the twenty-first century and explored what

Claudia Hammond, presenter of Radio 4’s All in the Mind, talked about the importance of rest and revealed the results of ‘The Rest Test’, a psychological survey completed by 18,000 people in 135 countries. A key point to emerge was how poor, in general, people are at resting. In one study, participants were asked to sit quietly on a chair in an empty room. They were even incentivised to do so by an anklet which administered an electric shock if the participant moved. 25% of women and 91% of men in the study preferred giving themselves an electric shock to sitting quietly for 15 minutes! The survey also found that the top-rated restful activities were all individual pursuits, even for extroverts. Other research

Miss Abigail Levesque, Teacher of Psychology