XL student, Finlay Brown currently studies Politics, English Literature and Business here at Ashton. Over the summer he attended the prestigious John Locke Institute at Oxford University as part of their 2 week PPE Programme. 

Finlay had a wonderful 2 weeks:

"The John Locke Institute provided me with a valuable opportunity to develop my interests in PPE and explore challenging concepts through lectures and seminars from experts around the world - particularly ex-Oxford and Cambridge. Dr. John Filling’s ‘Introduction to Political Thought’ in which he discussed MacCallum’s triadic relation of freedom and corresponding Marxist and Libertarian interpretations were especially insightful, as well as Dr. David Mackie’s ‘Introduction to Moral Philosophy’ in which he expanded on J.L Mackie’s views on meta-ethics. Lectures from Lord Daniel Hannan and Dr. Jamie Whyte encouraged me to think critically and sceptically by presenting controversial opinions that challenged my own, as well as the diversity of opinion within students which created the opportunity for intellectually stimulating debates and discussions that were presented in the Oxford Union Chamber during the Ideological Turing Test. Ultimately, the JLI summer school in Oxford was a rewarding experience, enhancing my academic interests and useful for my decision to apply for a degree in PPE."

Finlay's Politics teacher, Rebecca Andrews, is immensely proud of Finlay:

“Finlay is an outstanding student and I am thrilled that he had the opportunity to take part in such an experience after a tough interview process. The academic rigour, the intellectual debates with other high-achieving individuals, together with experiencing lectures from renowned experts in the field, gave Finlay the perfect experience of studying PPE at degree level.”

Find out more about our XL programme here.