Tripos Award

The term Tripos is taken from Cambridge University, who use the term to denote the three achievements necessary to graduate and prepare students for life beyond academic study. This notion is firmly embedded in the Royal High School Bath Tripos with the focus being on experience and development outside the classroom which serves as preparation for university study and future professional success.

The Tripos award consists of three elements:

• Curiositas – aims to develop a curiosity and pursuit of knowledge
• Civitas – aims to develop a sense of service and commitment to a cause beyond yourself
• Conatus – aims to develop a sense of challenge and endeavour to reach beyond their grasp

For students to achieve the Tripos award they must successfully complete all three elements.

Why do we offer the Tripos Award?

We want to develop inquisitive young women who are lifelong learners and understand that the pursuit of knowledge has inherent value. We want to develop selfless young women who value service and are committed to causes greater than themselves. Finally, we want to develop confident young women who are undaunted in the face of challenge and have the resilience to persevere despite setbacks or failure.

Our belief in these characteristics is why we created the Tripos. We value these traits, which is why we want to reward them. The award offers our students the opportunity to pursue and develop in each of these ways but, importantly, rewards them for it.

Our belief is that those who successfully complete the award will have gained new intellectual insight into an area of interest, dedicated to a cause beyond themselves and pushed beyond what they thought they were capable of.

What do students gain from achieving the Tripos Award?

Those who successfully complete the award during Sixth Form are presented with a certificate to evidence their achievement and are invited to a special celebration evening. We believe the process and journey of achieving the award is just as important as the outcome itself and the experience and knowledge gained.

We know that leading universities and companies increasingly want young people with the necessary skills to navigate and excel in high performing academic and professional environments. The undertaking and completion of the Tripos provides students with the opportunity to develop and showcase the skills and experience they have acquired to prospective universities and employers. In an increasingly competitive and crowded field, we want our students' personal statements, CVs and interviews to stand out and set themselves apart from the rest.

How do students achieve the Tripos Award?

The three Tripos criteria should be viewed as enabling and not restrictive. The criteria outlined is the minimum expected requirement to meet the necessary standard of the award and students are encouraged to go beyond them. Ultimately, what they gain from the Tripos experience will be reflected by the amount of time and effort they put in.

To help chart the progress of their Tripos journey, we ask that they complete reflections at three points in the process – at the start, midway and afterwards. The Tripos is designed to help develop traits that we feel are important and are a continuation of the six Royal High School Bath Learner Qualities cultivated in the Prep School and leading on through the Senior School. We want to see evidence that students have reflected on theirTripos choices and experiences, and that they have embodied these Learner Qualities. The process of reflection is similar to the Duke of Edinburgh Log and the CAS system of the International Baccalaureate.