Waynflete Studies Prizegiving 2026

Yesterday, we were delighted to celebrate another year of impressive research undertaken by our Lower Sixth pupils at the Waynflete Studies Prizegiving. The Master, Helen Pike, joined Chairman of Judges Dr Michael Allingham to present the prizes.

The prizegiving marked the culmination of last year’s Waynflete Studies programme, during which every Lower Sixth pupil completed an extended piece of independent research. From the sciences and humanities to languages, music and the arts, the projects reflected an impressive breadth of interests, with pupils investigating subjects well beyond the boundaries of their usual curriculum.

Each pupil pursued a topic of their choice with guidance from an MCS supervisor and external academic tutors. The strongest submissions were then considered by a panel of external judges, including academics from the University of Oxford. With so many thoughtful and original projects among this year’s entries, the judging panel faced the considerable challenge of selecting the final prize-winners and highly commended projects.

We were delighted to welcome back Chairman of Judges Dr Michael Allingham to present the prizes. An Emeritus Fellow of Magdalen College, he served as its Frank Richardson Fellow and Tutor in Economics from 1993 to 2009. His research interests span equilibrium theory, rational choice theory and distributive justice, making him especially well placed to recognise the rigorous thinking and intellectual independence demonstrated by our pupils.

Overall Winner

Alexander, Physical Sciences

Measuring the weather with cosmic rays: Does wind affect muon rates underground?

Proxime Accessit

Nathan, Economics

To what extent can bargaining game theory models explain the outcomes of the 2018 US China Trade war?

President’s Prizes

Richard, Biosciences        

To what extent does birth order have an impact on child development, behaviour, and health?

Tvisha, Biosciences   

From Anatomy to Attractors: To what extent does an electrical and dynamical interpretation of ischaemic stroke reframe recovery beyond structural restoration? 

Sophia, Biosciences

To what extent could CAR-T cell therapies be effective at treating solid tumours?

Max, Biosciences

To what extent can GLP-1 receptor agonists revolutionize the landscape of obesity and its comorbidities?

Ruby, Biosciences

To what extent could piezoelectric materials revolutionise chronic wound treatment?

Cerys, Maths & Computer Science    

Do modern LLMs reason with idioms in the same way as humans?

Zimo, Economics

To what extent does for-profit provision of residential elderly care improve or undermine key social objectives in the UK

Freddie, History

To what extent did Michael Collins’ decision to sign the Anglo-Irish Treaty create lasting fragmentation within the Republican movement?

Nahum, History              

A World Without the Soviet Union: The Economic, Political and Social Repercussions for Cuba, 1990-2000

Calvin, Physical Sciences              

Desktop star in a jar: An evaluation of compact inertial electrostatic confinement fusion devices as neutron sources for neutron activation analysis

Commendations

Meg, Biosciences             

What can we learn from Death Cap Mushrooms?

Maeve, Biosciences      

Rewriting Huntington’s disease: ​ AMT-130 gene therapy. To what extent can genetic therapies such as AMT-130 demonstrate potential as a disease-modifying treatment for Huntington’s disease, and how might this approach influence the future of disease-modifying treatments?

Luca, Biosciences      

Evaluating the use of lichen as an air quality bioindicator within an urban environment

Emmeline, Humanities        

To what extent can Feminism continue to be a productive movement?

Ira, Humanities

Colonial power in law: How did legal policy subvert African legal systems?

Nina, MFL

To what extent is laïcité compatible with religious pluralism in 21st century France?

Gabriel, Physical Sciences

Could solar sailing prove a cost-effective alternative to chemical propulsion for interplanetary missions?

Ferdinand, Politics

How plausible is the UK’s net zero by 2050 target?

Oliver, Social Sciences

How did logistics and coordination affect the outcome of the war in North Africa during the period of 1941- 1943 and was the side that managed logistical elements most effectively, the ultimate victor?

Sebastian, Social Sciences

Would a presumption of limb (b) worker status reduce employment misclassification among UK gig-economy workers, or is broader reform necessary?

Many congratulations to our prize-winners including the commended projects! We are very grateful to Magdalen College and the University of Oxford for supporting our pupils.