The grant application process is currently open to schools and colleges in Scotland that wish to deliver a philosophy programme to students aged 15-18 years.
The Royal Institute provides funding to support the delivery of a 6 week extracurricular philosophy programme to engage Year 11 and/or 6th form students in philosophical thinking. This programme, designed to run during the academic year 2024/25, is now open and we welcome applications from all schools and colleges in Scotland. The grant application process will close at 9.00am on Monday 30th September 2024.
The timetable for the programme will be yours to agree with your tutor, but normally will run for 1 hour per week for 6 weeks. We encourage in person delivery, however, if it is better for your education setting to deliver an online programme, this will be considered. If successful, your grant will include a small budget for books to support the programme as well as access to 3 issues of THINK online for your school. The Royal Institute usually appoints tutors for delivery of the schools programme but, where this is not possible, a suitable tutor sourced by the school/college may be engaged.
Our courses usually involve students aged 16-18 who have little or no experience in Philosophy. We encourage teachers to invite a wide range of students to the programme; they do not need to be studying or planning to study Philosophy. We do sometimes arrange sessions with younger children, but our hope is to target schools where there is not much funding or opportunity for extra study for students approaching external examination age.
We wish for tutors to tackle basic philosophical topics concerning the nature of knowledge, ethics, the mind, free will, and so on. The content should reflect a measured inclusion of philosophers and examples representative of a full range of backgrounds. Delivery styles should be varied and be designed to offer opportunities to develop critical thinking and listening skills whilst encouraging students to recognise the various reasons offered in support of one position or another and to offer their own considered insights. There should be an emphasis on empowering students to address the questions themselves.
Typically, courses should take up topics encountered at A-level or in first year introductory classes at university but are designed to stimulate engagement for any student, irrespective of their academic subject interest or level.
Teachers who have previously engaged with this programme report seeing:
- ‘increasing excitement of learning’,
- ‘bringing new skills in critical thinking’,
- ‘increased metacognition, speaking and listening skills, and the ability to respond respectfully to others with different views’.
If you feel your students could benefit from just this sort of experience, then please complete the grant application form on the left.
At this time, we will accept ‘in principle’ applications for programmes running between September 2024 and June 2025.
If you have any enquiries, or want to find out more about the schools programme, please email schools@royalinstitutephilosophy.org.
Royal Institute of Philosophy Terms and Conditions for TRIP Schools Programme
The following terms and conditions apply to the Royal Institute of Philosophy Schools Programme.
- Applications should be submitted to the Royal Institute of Philosophy (TRIP) up to and including the deadline date of Midnight on Sunday 14th July 2024 using the application form supplied by the Royal Institute. Submissions after this date will not be accepted.
- Each school will appoint a nominated programme manager, who will be the point of contact between the school, the tutor and the Royal Institute. If the role changes hands, then the Royal Institute must be notified with details of the new contact in a timely fashion.
- Funding is typically provided directly to the Royal Institute of Philosophy course tutor or organisation responsible for course delivery, who then arranges for the purchase of course resources and programme delivery. Schools who have sourced their own suitable tutor may receive funding directly.
- The Royal Institute will provide a current DBS check for any tutor they provide to deliver a school programme. Any school supplying their own tutor will be expected to confirm receipt of a DBS check for their tutor to the Royal Institute.
- Previous funding implies no commitment for future funding.
- Programme Content
- The programme is not designed to be a revision class for A Level philosophy students and the content should reflect this.
- Sessions should be a mixture of discussion and lecture with a leaning towards discussion-based activities supported by coverage of key content.
- Your teacher/school should take the opportunity to engage with their tutor to discuss the course content and programme design in advance.
- We recommend tutors are able to design their course in partnership with the Royal Institute, however, if there is good reason to make suggestions over content, in order to adjust the course, this opportunity should be taken.
- Reporting
- The responsible teacher will be expected to deliver an activity report to the Royal Institute post programme. This report will be in the form of a questionnaire supplied by the Royal Institute and is expected to be delivered within a maximum of 4 weeks following the completion of the programme.
- Schools will be requested to share any audio or visual material of their funded programme with the Royal Institute as an integral part of their activity reporting.
- The Royal Institute may request a short review meeting in order to gain more understanding of the programme delivery following receipt of the questionnaire.
- The tutor that delivers your schools programme will also be required to complete a questionnaire supplied by the Royal Institute.