Schools & Educators

Supporting schools and educators to deliver meaningful academic enrichment for ambitious students - without added pressure.

Inquisitas works in partnership with schools and educators to support high-achieving students aged 16+ through rigorous, engaging Humanities and Social Sciences enrichment. Our programmes are designed to stretch students intellectually, nurture curiosity, and develop the independent thinking universities value while remaining flexible, accessible, and low-admin for schools.

Our Approach to Enrichment

Supporting Students in the Humanities and Social Sciences

Students with interests in subjects such as History, Literature, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics often have fewer structured enrichment opportunities beyond the classroom - particularly when compared with their STEM-focused peers. While Olympiads, competitions, and lab placements are well established in the sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences students can struggle to access subject-specific experiences that offer genuine academic challenge and insight into university-level study.

Inquisitas exists to address this imbalance.

Our online programmes provide ambitious students with the academic stretch they’re often seeking: the chance to explore ideas in depth, work closely with expert academics, and experience the intellectual rigour of university-style learning in a supportive environment.

“We believe in ‘learning with’ rather than simply ‘learning from’. Our programmes empower students to pursue their academic interests with clarity and confidence in collaboration with leading experts, building skills that last far beyond the classroom.”

— Dr Alice Spiers, Founder & Director

What Inquisitas Offers Schools

We offer a range of enrichment opportunities that can sit alongside existing provisions, complement EPQs and super-curricular pathways, or form part of a school’s wider gifted and talented strategy.

Each Inquisitas programme is designed to meet students at different stages of their academic journey - from exploration, to depth, to academic confidence.

Core Programmes

Our flagship 1:1 programmes pair students with expert tutors from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge for a four-week independent research project. Students develop their own research question, engage deeply with academic literature, and produce an original written project to a university-level standard - building confidence, clarity of thought, and academic maturity.
Ideal for:
- Highly motivated students who want to explore a subject in depth beyond the syllabus
- Sixth form or gap year students preparing for competitive, essay-based university courses
- Students considering Oxbridge, Russell Group, or research-intensive degrees
- Learners who thrive with intellectual challenge, independent inquiry, and one-to-one academic discussion
- Students seeking substantial super-curricular engagement or an extension to EPQ-style work
Delivered online over five weeks, our lecture series introduce students to big ideas, current debates, and cutting-edge research within a subject area. Designed to stretch high-achieving students without assessment pressure, the series encourage interdisciplinary thinking, discussion, and curiosity-driven learning.
Ideal for:
- Students curious to explore a subject beyond the classroom without the pressure of assessment
- Those considering a subject for university and wanting exposure to university-level ideas
- High-achieving students looking to strengthen super-curricular profiles gradually over time
- Learners who enjoy discussion, big questions, and interdisciplinary thinking
- Schools seeking accessible, low-admin enrichment that fits around term-time commitments
Held online during school holidays, our conference days bring together expert speakers for a full day of lectures, panels, and interdisciplinary discussion focused on a specific subject. They offer students an immersive, energising experience of university-style learning and developments at the forefront of academic research in a highly accessible format.
Ideal for:
- Students who want an immersive introduction to a subject or theme in a short, high-impact format
- Learners exploring new interests or testing whether a subject is right for them at university
- Students building confidence engaging with advanced ideas and academic speakers
- Schools looking for structured holiday enrichment or a scalable gifted-and-talented opportunity
- Students seeking fresh perspectives and talking points for personal statements or interviews

Bespoke Enrichment and Outreach for Schools

Schools often need enrichment that fits their students, curriculum, and strategic priorities, whether that’s widening access, strengthening Humanities uptake, or supporting informed university decision-making. Inquisitas works with schools to design tailored academic experiences that foreground intellectual curiosity, disciplinary depth, and future-facing thinking.

Our bespoke enrichment and outreach events work particularly well for schools looking to provide super-curricular enrichment with minimal administrative load, while also supporting students preparing for competitive university applications.

All sessions are delivered by Oxford and Cambridge early-career researchers working at the forefront of developments in their fields.

These events explore contemporary issues through an academic lens and work particularly well for mixed subject groups.
Formats
- Single speaker lecture (30-45 minute lecture followed by student Q&A)
- Panel discussion (1-1.5 hour, 3 panellists in discussion directed by student Q&A)
Possible themes:
- Nuclear Power (policy & ethics)
- International Peacekeeping and Conflict
- Democracy (ethics & threats)
- Migration (policy, ethics & legislation)
- Climate Crisis (policy & ethics)
- AI & Medical Ethics
- Post-Colonial Legacies
- Museum Ethics
- Religion in the 21st Century
- Social Media (ethics & regulation)
Speakers typically begin with a broad overview of the issue before exploring their own area of research in more depth. We are also very happy to design themes around topics your students are currently discussing or that build on other material covered in other enrichment sessions.
These events give students a clearer sense of what academic disciplines look like at university level.
Formats
- Single lecture (30-45 minutes followed by Q&A)
- Two lecture event (two talks followed by a shared Q&A, approximately 90 minutes)
- Disciplinary panel discussion (three academics discussing their research and the wider field, 60-90 minutes)
Speakers present their research and explain how their discipline approaches real-world questions, helping students see how subjects are applied in practice.
Events can be discipline-specific (e.g. Politics, Economics, Law, Philosophy) or interdisciplinary, reflecting fields where many academics now work across subject boundaries.
Our tailored “Introduction to…”talks offer students a clear, intellectually honest insight into what studying a Humanities or Social Sciences subject at university really involves.
These sessions introduce students to disciplines they may not encounter at school, such as Anthropology, Sociology or Theology, and outline how these subjects are studied at university.
These talks are designed to:
- Introduce key questions, methods, and ways of thinking in the discipline
- Support informed subject choices at GCSE, A-level, or university
- Challenge misconceptions about Humanities and Social Sciences pathways
Talks can be delivered online or in person and adapted for different age groups and academic contexts.
Ideal for: sixth form transitions, subject evenings, academic options events, and enrichment programmes.
Our Founder and Director, Dr Alice Spiers, delivers outreach and careers talks for students exploring Humanities and Social Sciences pathways at university and beyond.
Drawing on experience teaching and researching at the University of Oxford, contributing to admissions and widening access initiatives, and working in research policy and data science, these talks explore:
- What Humanities and Social Sciences degrees really develop
- How subject choices translate into diverse academic and professional futures
- The role of critical thinking, research, and ethical reasoning in a changing world
These sessions foreground a love of learning while offering students clarity, confidence, and realistic insight into academic and career pathways.
Ideal for: careers programmes, widening participation initiatives, enrichment days, and parent evenings.

Interested in a bespoke programme for your school? We’d be delighted to discuss how Inquisitas can support your students and enrichment priorities.

Enquire about tailored enrichment options →

Why Schools Partner with Inquisitas

Inquisitas enrichment opportunities align with the core priorities of leading schools: academic excellence, independent learning, and university readiness, without adding administrative burden.

Academically rigorous, research-led enrichment grounded in real university practice
Teaching and supervision by Oxford and Cambridge academics
Clear benefits for competitive university applications, including Oxbridge and Russell Group courses
Encourages intellectual independence, curiosity, and confidence
Fully online and flexible around students’ existing commitments
No administrative burden for schools - we manage onboarding and delivery
Partnership options including custom cohorts, priority placements, and discounted pricing

Supporting strong university applications

For students applying to competitive universities, high grades alone are rarely enough. Admissions tutors look for evidence of genuine subject engagement, independent thinking, and sustained intellectual inquiry beyond the curriculum.

Inquisitas programmes give students the space to develop exactly this. Through sustained academic engagement, students gain experiences they can reference naturally in personal statements and discuss with confidence in interviews - not as rehearsed answers, but as authentic reflections on their intellectual interests.

Students gain:

Concrete material for personal statements
Confidence discussing ideas in interview settings
Experience of university-style academic expectations

Skills that matter beyond subject choice

Research-led learning in the Humanities and Social Sciences develops some of the most transferable academic skills students can acquire. Across our programmes, students build:

Critical and independent thinking
Clear, persuasive academic writing
Confidence in discussion and questioning
The ability to evaluate information and engage with complexity

These skills support success across disciplines - from Law and Medicine to Engineering and the Arts - and continue to matter long after applications are submitted.

Working with Inquisitas

Our partnership model is designed to be simple and supportive.

Schools share opportunities with students, and students register directly with Inquisitas. We manage all onboarding, tutor matching, delivery, and student support, keeping schools informed without adding to staff workload.

We offer a range of programme formats and partnership options to suit different school contexts and student needs.

These include: